Mandatory stops in Montería: restaurants to discover this culture through the palate

In the same place where the first 150 families of indigenous people, mulattoes and blacks settled in Montería, the first gastronomic festival was held, in which 20 businesses participated that keep the tradition of these first settlers alive.

This space created by the city's mayor's office, called 'Sabores del Sinú', only took place from February 22 to 23, in 'La Ronda', the largest linear park in Latin America. And it was the perfect opportunity to bring the community together in an environment full of sabanera music, talent and to activate the local economy.

"To hold this event, a call was opened to which more than 100 ventures submitted their proposals. At the beginning, we had planned to have only 16, but seeing that so many people wanted to be part of this festival, we included 20 restaurants that prepare typical Sinuan food, made with ingredients grown in the region and that have been cooked in the territory since legendary times," says Hugo Fernando Kerguelén, current mayor of the 'City of Dreams'.

With 'Sabores del Sinú', those restaurants that are a must-stop when passing through Montería came into view, because they serve the best of the local cuisine. Just getting close to the teatrino (open-air theatre), you could already smell the zarapas, mote de queso and barbecued meat, which made anyone who passed by get hungry.

After passing through the large Welcome! sign, choosing a dish seemed like an impossible mission. On one side, chocolate de bola (a kind of chocolate ball), on another, chicheme, a traditional drink made with corn milk; further ahead, the typical rice with a lot of seasoning, and further back, a mote de queso (a kind of cheese with eggplant and fried cubes of coastal cheese). Everything seemed provocative, to the point of wishing they sold their dishes in a tiny presentation, so that I could try each recipe.

One of the most striking culinary traditions is the one wrapped in bijao leaves and called zarapa. Although it looks like cold cuts, this recipe is the flavour of the savannah coast surrounded by nature, reminiscent of how day labourers used to eat when they didn't have time to return home for a good lunch.

Zarapa usually comes with salad, rice with coconut, yuca, cheese and some protein such as: stewed pork, cocá, stewed chicken, pork rinds, lamb. And for those who did not get to try it, they can come at any time of the year to kilometer 6 via planeta rica, towards Medellín. On Instagram, you can find it as @lazarapasinuana.

For those looking for soup, the mote de queso could be the best option. Especially the one brought by Experiencia 298, a restaurant named after the biblical quote from 2 Corinthians, chapter 9, verse 8, which says: "And God is able to make all grace abound to you; so that, always having all sufficiency in all things, you may abound in every good work," a phrase that has become the mission of Alix Contreras, who has passed the tradition on to her daughters and her diners through her restaurant.

"Our specialty is the mote de queso, something typical of the region. We learned it from our ancestors, they prepared the cheese on the farms, they grew yams, vegetables like chili, which is also grown, as well as onions and chives," says Mrs. Contreras, who has her headquarters in the La Castellana neighborhood (62B Street # 8-10 B).

A little further ahead from Alix Contreras' stand is 'Chef Man Arts Culinary', a business that offers grilled meats at the Plaza 57 mall (Calle 57 # 12-06), but which left its stoves for a weekend to show the people of Montería its mix of American recipes with exquisite cattle from the region.

Their specialties range from pulled pork to smoked chicharrón. These meats are made with a dry marinade and ingredients such as paprika, onion, and garlic are added for 24 hours , while others are grilled for 14 hours.

To round off the gastronomic tour: drinks. In the stifling heat, the most appropriate drinks seem to be a Caraqueña, prepared with oats and rice; a Chicheme or a Corozo juice, a fruit that is cooked and from which the juice is extracted. All three are the jewels of Angelina Sotomayor, who has brought forward Said Sabor de la Tradition, a restaurant located at (Calle 51 con 11 Monteverde) together with her grandson and daughter.

Finally, instead of a 'tintico', to end the afternoon, it seemed better to try chocolate de bola, a preparation from 'La Villa Chocolate', which contains corn and is a little thicker than usual. Taking a bag of this powder to make at home or to give as a gift is an excellent idea for those who want to take a piece of tradition and share it at home.

Although this was the first 'Sabores del Sinú', it seems it won't be the last. All those who participated in the fair sold their products and the citizens were left wanting a spoonful of each of the recipes and drinks that paid homage to a thousand-year-old tradition.

Maria Jimena Delgado Diaz

*With invitation from the mayor of Montería