El Portoncito Paisa ⬇️ Envigado, Colombia If you want to know where you can find some of the best empanadas in Envigado, you must visit El Portoncito Paisa, located right across from Parque de Envigado. 👍🏻 They are truly some of the best empanadas we have ever had! Filled with lots of meat and potatoes, and their hot sauce is super spicy! 🇨🇴 You don’t always have to get empanadas at this place, they also sell delicious buñuelos, which are super soft and with lots of cheese flavor. 🪑There is no seating at the restaurant, so we usually order the empanadas to go and then either take them home or eat them while we do some people-watching in the park.
I've been making this exact recipe for over 20 years. Got it from a recipe booklet that came with a can of Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk. Me thinks Magnolia Bakery did not invent this recipe.
I think so too because when I saw it, it reminded me of other recipes that were published before they started selling it. They have a great marketing team, that's for sure!
Dulce Contigo ⬇️ San Antonio de Pereira, Colombia A fantastic place to visit outside of Medellín if you’re looking for a nice, relaxing area to have the most amazing desserts. ⛪️ It’s located in San Antonio de Pereira, a few minutes from Rionegro, right across from the park, so you can’t miss it. 🍮 They have a ton of different flavored desserts like passion fruit, tres leches, leche asada (flan), tiramisú, soursop, and lime, just to name a few. 👩🏻🍳 The girls that work there are super nice and wonderful and always greet you with a smile from the moment you walk in through the door.
🍕Gioacchino Santoro Ristorante Pizzeria ⬇️ Envigado, Colombia We always drive by Santoro Pizzeria on our way home and never stop by because it is packed every single night, but this time we came for lunch and were able to enjoy some delicious pasta. 🍝 Even though I had decided to get some pizza, the moment we sat down I changed my mind and went with one of my favorite pasta, Carbonara. The pasta is made from scratch, which is great, and the sauce was pretty authentic, but for some reason, their cheese was very sour and it messed up the flavor of the Carbonara sauce. Next time I’ll make sure one of their pizzas, instead. 🚗 One of the reasons we had not stopped before is because their parking lot is tiny and it’s very difficult to find a parking space, which is a bummer. This time we decided to go earlier in the day and even though we did find a parking space, the place was packed. This is one of the reasons I was not able to record the inside of the restaurant. 👩🏻🍳 Besides focusing on the quality of food of every place we visit, I also pay attention to their service, and theirs was pretty remarkable. The kitchen is right out front so we were able to see them making all kinds of pizzas, which was pretty fun. And the best part, pets are always welcome! 🐶
It's always best to have your sauce ready, so you can add the pasta as soon as it's finished cooking. Leaving pasta sitting is generally frowned upon. Nice recipe, though.
It's a great recipe and leaving the pasta draining while you cook everything else does not affect the final outcome. I say this because not everybody can cook everything at the same time while they're trying to make a nice meal for their family.
🧆THE SHAWARMA HOUSE ⬇️ Envigado, Colombia We found The Shawarma House when searching for highly-rated restaurants in Envigado. It is a 5-star restaurant with over 600 reviews and these are some of the reasons why: 🍽️ The restaurant is centrally located about a block from Parque Envigado, which makes it easy to find. The place is small but it was not crowded when we stopped by, another plus. 🌯 The food is what caught our attention. They have a variety of Arab-style items as part of their menu like shawarmas, Hummus, & falafel. I ordered the beef & chicken lunch combo and Mr. Sweet ordered the beef & chicken picada. Both were excellent! And the falafel was my favorite part of our meal! 👩🏻🍳The service was amazing. We were greeted by their staff from the moment we walked in, kindly went over their menu, and always made sure we were enjoying our meal.
🍣Takamar Sushi ⬇️ Envigado, Colombia This time we stopped by Takamar Sushi mainly because so many influencers on social media have recommended it. After our dining experience, I can sadly say that we will not go back. We still have not been able to find a good sushi restaurant in Medellín, so if you have any suggestions, please send them my way so we can check them out! 🍣 The sushi is not the best. The rice is dry, almost everything is served with cream cheese (why?!), and there are nearly zero options for real raw sushi or nigiri. 🐷 One of their most well-known rolls is the Suchicharrón. A sushi roll made with pork belly and ceviche on top. Unfortunately, this sounds better than it really is because again, it was super dry and the flavor was not amazing. If I want to have crispy pork belly, I’ll just go to a traditional Colombian restaurant. 🍽️ The service was not great. We were the only ones in the restaurant that night (that should have been our first sign) and we rarely saw the waitress around. On top of that, they don’t take credit cards. 👎🏻
🦋GABO Restaurant ⬇️ Envigado, Colombia One of the best restaurants I have found in Medellín has been Gabo. A beautiful restaurant inspired by the magical world of Gabriel García Márquez. We had a lovely dinner at the Envigado location and everything was spectacular. 🥘 The menu is 100% Colombian with a twist, focused mainly on the delicious food you will find on the Atlantic coast of Colombia. We had Posta Cartagenera, which was slow-cooked to perfection, the Morrillo a Cababllo, and the Cazuela de Mariscos. All the dishes were perfectly cooked and the best part is that you can get the recipes directly from the cooks so you can make them at home! 🍹The cocktails are all inspired by Gabriel García Marquez’s books which I thought was perfect! They had cocktails like Cien Años de Soledad, El Secreto de Melquiades, and I had the Macondo, which was delicious! So if you’re a Gabo fan, this is the place to visit!
🇪🇸 El Jaleo ⬇️ Medellín, Colombia El Jaleo is a very popular Latin & Spanish restaurant located in Medellín about a block from Parque El Poblado. It offers fantastic food, including Spain’s most popular menu items, and the entertainment was my favorite part of the night. 🥘 The food we had at El Jaleo was simply amazing. We started with the patatas bravas, they were not spicy but still delicious. Followed by the Paella de Mariscos (Seafood Paella) which was perfectly made and enough for 3 people. 🍹 I love my cocktails and had a delicious glass of sangria and a mojito. Mr. Sweet enjoyed a glass negroni and my lovely cousin had a Tinto de Verano (A Spanish Red Wine Cocktail). 🎶 The best part of the night was the live entertainment. These were guys were simply awesome!
🐥Sport Wings ⬇️ Medellín, Colombia We don’t always get Colombian food when we visit Colombia, although we do try to eat as much of it as we can. But we also enjoy other types of food, especially when they reminds us of home. Such is the case witih Sport Wings and since it’s so close to our condo, we go there once or twice during our stay. 🌃 They have several locations all over Medellín, so they are really easy to find. Our favorite one is close to home located in San Lucas Plaza. ⚽️ As the name indicates, this is a great place to watch a game or two while you enjoy your meal. They have several large TV screens where you can watch, American football, soccer, basketball, etc.. 🪽 The menu offers a good variety of chicken wing combos and drinks. We always try to mix it up and get different flavors. 🥛 The only negative with this place is their ranch dressing. I always make my rach dressing at home while we’re in the US and what they offer in this place is not it. It’s too tangy, too thin, and has zero ranch flavor, unfortunately.
🥘El Mirador Restaurant ⬇️ Medellín, Colombia One of the restaurants we wanted to visit the most while in Medellín was El Mirador (The View), located in the Edificio Fabricato, Cl. 51 #49 - 11, right in the middle of El Centro. 🏢 The restaurant is located on the 11th floor, so take the elevator to the 10th floor and then go up one fligh of stairs to the 11th floor. 🥣 We went on a Wednesday and had the “Mondongo” (Tripe soup) special that comes with rice, arepa, avocado, side salad, banana and a tropical juice for $22K COP. However, they also have other menu items like grilled steak, chicken, pork, breaded fish, and the popular “Bandeja Paisa”. ☀️ Like most establishments in the city, there is no A/C, only a few fans inside the restaurant , which is a shame because the place gets HOT. But, you do get the ocassional light breeze that comes through the open windows, as well as the terrace. 🏙️ The view is incredible, hence the name, “Mirador”. You almost have a 360° view of all El Centro, including the Coltejer building and La Candelaria church.
🌸Finca El Pensamiento ⬇️ Santa Elena, Colombia This week Medellín celebrates the city’s yearly flower festival where flowers are the belle of the ball. We visited El Pensamiento, one of the many flower farms located in Santa Elena to see how these beautiful flowers are grown and harvested. 🏡 The place is absolutely breathtaking and the owners, Don José Ángel Zapata and his wife, Blanca Rosa, were extremely welcoming. We visited during the week (a week before the start of the festival) and got a VIP tour of the place since we were the only ones visiting. 🌺 The farm has tons of floweres including, zinnias, cosmos, sunflowers, hydrangeas, geraniums, chamomille, among many others. All of which are used to make the “silletas” (flower arrangements) for the festival. So if you’re a garden enthusiast, like I am, you will fall in love with this place. 🎟️ The entrance fee was $50K COP, per person, and even though they were not serving any food that day, Don José still made us sweet arepas with cheese and aguapanela (cane sugar drink) for $10K COP each. 🚗 Getting there is a bit tricky because it is not located dead center in Santa Elena. We drove ourselves from Envigado and it took us over an hour. During the festival you can use public transport,a ride-sharing app, or pay for a tour.
BELLAGIO HOTEL & CASINO ⬇️ Spring 2024 Las Vegas, NV We always try different hotels whenever we visit Las Vegas and this year we decided to stay in the newly renovated Bellagio Hotel & Casino. This is one of our favorite casinos and had a wonderful stay. 🌸 As always, the spring celebration at the Bellagio Gardens did not disappoint. It was absolutely stunning and it smelled amazing! 🛏️ The rooms are newly renovated and ours was not only beautiful but very comfortable as well. 🎰 If you’re looking to spend most of your time on the Strip, then definitely consider staying at the Bellagio Hotel. It’s located right in the middle of the Strip and everything is so conveniently close to it.
✝️🤍🤍🤍🎆💫⚡🧄🕊️🐏🐑✡️😇🎁🎁🎁🧃🥤🎂🎀🎄🌼🌏🌎🌍✝️❤️🤍💙🦅🇺🇸🍀🍀🍀Holy Psalm 91 Jesus and KathrynMiller say Thankyou for sharing and caring and ✝️🤍🤍🤍💫🎆⚡🧄Happy New Years Pink lemonade and family and friends ✝️🤍🤍🤍✝️🤍🤍🤍✝️❤️🤍💙🦅🇺🇸🍀🍀🍀
Right?! I thought the same thing when we had it in NYC but we couldn't get enough of it. It could be nostalgia, but you can't deny how wonderful it is! 😊
We really like it. Is it as glamorous as the places you find on the strip? Not at all. But if all you're looking for is a nice place to have a good breakfast at an affordable price, this is it.
BLUEBERRY HILL 🍳 ⬇️ FAMILY RESTAURANT Las Vegas, NV If you’re looking for a good place to have a quick breakfast while visiting Las Vegas, then you might want to check out Blueberry Hill. It’s the place we always go to before we head out to the airport for a good, yet affordable breakfast. 🍳 The menu is pretty extensive and they have great savory and sweet options to choose from at affordable prices. ☕️ I thought the coffee was pretty good and was exactly what I needed for our early flight. 🚗 They have several restaurants all across the city BUT, they are not on the Strip, which is the reason why their prices are more affordable. Also, the restaurants are not modern and they still have that 80s vibe, but I thought that gave them a bit of character. 😎
Making lemonade with just sparkling soda would not be as delicious. What you could do is replace some of the water with sparkling water to make a fizzy lemonade. You could also add flavored soda like Sprite or 7UP but you would have to reduce the amount of simple syrup.
TACOS EL GORDO ⬇️ Las Vegas, NV While walking around Las Vegas Blvd. we made a quick stop at Tacos El Gordo given that it is so popular all over social media. The reason for their popularity is that they are delicious Tijuana-style street tacos served with all the fixings. 🌮 The tacos were amazing and the menu included adobada o al pastor, carne asada, suadero, lengua, tripa, you name it. 🫓 The tortillas were all handmade which makes these tacos truly stand out. 😒 However, the ordering process is a mess. Each taco has its own line, so if you want to order different types of tacos, you have to wait in line for each one. And let me tell you, those lines are loooong! Mr. Sweet and I split up so that he could order the al pastor or adobada tacos, and I ordered the carne asada tacos. It took about 20-25 minutes each, so our plan helped.
