We have already developed quite an extensive list of our favorite food places in town after only a week. Granted some of these are familiar to us from our visit last March, but most are new to us and the result of just walking the streets, exploring, willing to try new foods.
You can get a pretty good bowl of soup almost anywhere you go in Ecuador, but my favorite spot for a hearty, delicious, warm bowl of Potato Soup is the Majestic. We ate at this restaurant quite a few times during our last visit (vacation), but have not frequented it much this trip. It caters to tourists and with it carries much higher prices than you can find elsewhere in town. But for $2.50 you can get a large bowl of homemade soup that will serve as a full meal, warm up your insides, and put a smile on your face.
The central market has a number of options for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. You do not find many (any) tourists here, mostly locals and some expats familiar with what the shops have to offer. Soup is a common breakfast food and you can find many folks hunkered over a bowl of hot soup each morning.
Cotacachi Central Market
We eat both lunch and dinner here. You can get a big plate of rice, fried potatoes stuffed with cheese, salad, and chicken or beef for only $1.50. We typically order 3 meals, and 2 drinks…this is enough food for the 4 of us and the total bill comes to $5.10. Thrown in a couple of slices of cake for an additional $.25 a piece…
We wrote about the $1.00 Banana Split store we found. If we are in the mood for a sweet treat this is definitely a favorite. We usually only order 3 and share unless someone is sick and we don’t want to share their germs. Total bill comes to $3.00 for a delicious, fresh, homemade, and relatively healthy desert for the whole family.
Our latest find tops them all for a quick, INEXPENSIVE meal. We found a small restaurant that was not open during our last visit that serves homemade Empenada’s. This is a small place with only 2 tables with seating for 8 if you squeeze in real tight…quite often there is a line outside waiting for their orders. You can order cheese, chicken, or beef…or they offer a coffee flavor that I have not tried yet. Get this…a cheese empanada costs $.25 and the chicken and beef will set you back $.30 each. Lunch for $.60 max!
The first night we ate here we ordered a total of 6 empenada’s for our entire family..total bill $1.60!!
Lately their hamburgers are a big hit with our family. Not sure how hamburgers and empenada’s go together, but everyone is raving about their hamburgers…claims that they are the best in South America are common.
I can’t remember the prices for just a hamburger, but I do know that you can order a hamburger and a coke for $1.00, and she will throw a fried egg and slice of ham for $1.50! A friend of mine calls this breakfast on a bun, but it is common for him to spend $8.00 for one of these delights back in the states.
Here is something cool also that you just don’t see back in the states. My wife is allergic to wheat so she typically orders a hamburger without a bun…but she found a local baker that makes corn buns for her each morning. She can take one of these buns to the empanada restaurant and they will make her a hamburger using the corn bun…how cool is that.
homemade spaghetti sauce
We are making most of our meals at home to “save money”…so we have not eaten out as often as we might otherwise. However, we are always on the lookout for a new spot that offers a delicious, nutritious, economical meal for our family. So far we have found a number of great places in Cotacachi, Ecuador that meet these requirements.
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by Sean
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