Ajiacos y Mondongos

The Lowdown.

You have to love a restaurant with only three options on the menu. Two of them are in the name and, the third is a frijolada, the traditional bean stew that comes with fried pork belly, diced meat, avocado, rice, and crisps sprinkled on top for good measure. Oh, don’t forget the arepa, of course.

It’s been this way since 1991, with little changing in the interim. This place is considered the forerunner of the bests traditional food restaurants in Antioquia. An obligatory pitstop for out-of-town celebrities when they’re in Medellin, this ultra-traditional eatery offers the best Colombian dishes near Poblado.

The traditional stew is made with chicken, two types of potatoes, sweetcorn and served with capers, cream, rice, and avocado. The third option on the menus is the mondongo stew made with a cow’s stomach. All three are terrific and served up fast for a lunchtime crowd that wants their fill in a hurry.

The restaurant recently opened a second smaller location in Laureles and an outlet in the Olaya Herrera airport for one last hit before leaving town.