Breakfast in Guatemala: Where to Eat (Third Part)

Pastelería Patsy

They start selling cakes in 1971. Since I remember, everybody in Guatemala City always knew they made the best strawberries and cream cake of the city. With the time they added to the menu salty food as well. Lately they offer a great variety of breakfasts as well!

Here what you can find at their breakfasts:







And here their cakes! :D






La Palace

Wondering I didn´t find anything about this cake shop in internet. :( Definitely a real pity! This is a place that was there since I remember. When I was a kid to have a birthday cake from this cake shop was even a kind of wealthy sign. They also had quite interesting salty things for snack time, like the greatest vol au vents I had tried in my entire life! :D With the time they also incorporated breakfasts… but I should say if Igo there, no matter the time of the day, I would prefer to eat a vol au vent or/and a cake. The most famous cake they have is the Black Forest cake. Addresses of some of their cake shops: Paseo Miraflores Z-11, (502) 23840771; 10 Calle 3-40 Zona 10, (502) 23313008; Blvd. Vista Hermosa 21-71 Z-15, (502) 23857952; CAlz. Aguilar Batres 44-22 Zona 11, (502) 24791718; Centro Comercial Zona 4 Niv. 2, (502) 23352261.

Sarita

They started selling ice creams in 1948. Years later they discovered a place, Escuintla, which was in the middle of the rout going from Guatemala City to the beach, in a very hot place, so, they placed an ice cream shop there plus a hotel with swimming pool and a cafeteria… ;) Soon it became into an obligated stop for travelers going to the beach. Some years ago they decided to open restaurants at Guatemala City and it was a whole success and of course, they included breakfasts.

I should say this is not one of my favorite places in Guatemala but definitely their ice creams are really good and a success like they had is something to recognize, that´s why I included it here :D.

I´m afraid the web is giving troubles and I haven´t find pics to share with you, but at least I found this video:



Capistrano

This is an international food restaurant that also had added some years ago the breakfast service to their options. Also a great result! :D Here an example of what you can get at their breakfasts:



La Cabaña Suiza

It´s situated out of the city, at the road going from Guatemala to Antigua Guatemala, at the mountains. They offer hotel and cafeteria services, taking care of the gardens in a very special way, that´s part of what made them famous.

The goal of the cafeteria is to give real Swiss food options, but as usual, for breakfast, they had to offer Guatemalan´s style food to have success.

It´s really magical to go there, also you can appreciate a nice view of the city.

Here some of the pics they have at their web:





Chichoy

It´s also situated at the road of Tecpan. Offers a good variety of typical Guatemalan food options.

A promotional video:



Kape Paulinos


It´s situated at the road, in Tecpan, at the side of Katok.

It´s a nice place to taste typical Guatemalan food. Actually this is my favorite one of that area.

A video giving a perfect idea of what to find there:



An interview with the owners talking about the history and the specialties that you can find here:



And some pics:



Another great places to go but I´m afraid I haven´t find out webs of them neither pics or similar... :( but at least I would like to share the names with you:

Pecos Bill

Los Alpes

La Zurich

Pastelería Ciro

Los Tilos

Café de Imeri

(To be continued)

Madonna´s Concert in Madrid!

Last night (July 23th. 2009) took place a Madonna´s concert at Vicente Calderón Stadium in Madrid.

From the moment they started to sell the tickets, everybody said they were so expensive (between 96 to 400 Euros) and I really don´t know if that was the point or maybe that it´s summer (but I remember Madrid Rock in Rio of last year and being summer wasn´t a problem to make the place to be completely full), but wondering, the stadium was just 3/4 full.

A speciall presence: Infanta Elena was part of the VIP public, but they took her by the normal public stands (that was unnecessary as far as I remember) and the public received her with a lot of applauses and camera flashes.

I really enjoyed a lot the concert (even after a guard told me that I shouldn´t take more videos or I´ll be in troubles) :/ and the music selection for the concert was quite ok for me... and I should tell: Wow! What an energy, muscles and resistance the diva has!

Here some videos of the concert: (really sorry about the sound quality, I didn´t know how the power of the concert sound would affect the record… and been honest I really have no idea about how to prevent it next time).



Here with the white limo at the stage:



Here celebrating: ;P



Here skipping the rope:



The time for saving the word is almost over!





Here clamming our right for a holiday! ;P (We need a holidaaaayyyy):



The moment of Michael Jackson Tribute:



Let´s continue with a bit of "Music":



And I´m finishing with a bit of “Like a Prayer”:



Of course there were more! But I´m afraid I´m taking the videos with a photo camera and the card gets full so soon! :( (Yes, to buy one more is planned…).

I really liked the concert, maybe I already got the habit of knowing that when the diva puts “Game Over” at the screens it means exactly that: it´s over! No way to encore for more and her public, that knows her, not even claim it. I´m also ok with the included songs and the performance, even after watching something that pretended to be a Flamenco dance but actually it was tap (that I like, but at least not to do it with something alike Flamenco music and a man dressed trying to simulate, and I insist, to simulate, being a Flamenco´s dancer… I think someone should give her a bit of advised about the country customs she tries to present before making it wrong). Or the moment when she pretended us to know the meaning of a Rumanian phrase just because “both are Latin languages”… Anyway! I went out really happy of the concert! :D

Madonna´s Sticky & Sweet Tour Celebration Party at Hard Rock Café Madrid

Tonight had been the party previous tomorrow´s concert in Madrid.The sponsors were: DivinaMadonna.com (fan club), Sing Star and Hard Rock Café.



I´m afraid it was less people of what I thought, I want to believe the reason was it´s summer but maybe also was a matter of not so much publicity of the event.

The entrance cost was 4 euros, including a drink and the participation on a raffle.

Around 21.30 a Sing Star conquest started. We were in total something like 10 participants but actually it was really difficult to make people to do it. At list the public was very understanding.



This girl danced prety good:





More:







A brave guy:



A group:







The good part was that all the participants of the conquest owned a price! :P And there were also a lot of posters, 3 dinners and 2 VIP Madonna´s concert entrances in raffle.



The pity: I really have no idea why, but before and after the conquest, there were no more than 6 songs being played again and again. Also just 3 songs in total as possibility to being sang at the conquest.

Anyway it was really funny. Tomorrow: Madonna´s concert! :D

Breakfast in Guatemala: Where to Eat (Second part)

Saúl E. Mendez


This chain started in 1953 as men cloth store… how it adds the restaurant and cafeteria concept to that? Well, there´s not exactly an explanation but it happened in 1998 and just with small stands selling crêpes and European style hot beverages, it was so successful so they decided to work more deep in that way. They keep on the line of giving European style food (that doesn´t mean to follow up extremely the European customs, they adapt the food style to Guatemalan´s customs and preferences) and they really created something nice, different and worth to try! :D

Here an example of what you can find at their menu for breakfast:







La Estancia

This is a steak restaurant, Argentinean style that lately also offers breakfasts… and I should say with a quite excellent result! :)) They have a complete breakfast menu, but actually is better to take the buffet that contains:



And I could say you also can find the following desserts at breakfast as a good excuse to present them here... but the case is they are DELICIOUS! so no excuse is needed to place the pic here... ;P My favorite one: Babarua... mmmmmmmmmm!!!!



Here an old ad:



(Yeaph! I know! No breakfast there… but… how not to fall in the temptation of adding it here!?) ;P

McDonald´s

I should admit I´m not exactly a McDonald´s fan... but! If we talk about their breakfasts… the story is a bit different!

McDonald´s breakfast are quite internationals, so no need to explain the menu. It´s incredible but in Spain just something like 3 restaurants offer breakfast. So sad! :(

Here some commercials to remind what we can find in a McDo breakfast:











Burger King


Well, as far as I remember, I like their breakfasts… just that the last time I tried one was more than 10 years ago, so, I´m not sure if right now I would like it.

Here part of their breakfast menu:





And a nice ad:



Wendy´s

I´m afraid I don´t remember their breakfasts as well, but I do remember I use to like them and also that they had a cinnamon roll that was delicious.



Katok

This is a Guatemalan typical food restaurant that had started in Tecpan, at the side of a road, in 1961. With the civil war it had been burnt in 1981 but in 1983 part of the owner´s family started to offer part of the products in a small market place at the side of the same road. In 1988 they finally reopened the restaurant again and now they have 2 more restaurants at Guatemala City. Anyway to take the breakfast at the one in Tecpan remins as a classic when people go to Sololá or Quetzaltenango in a car.

Breakfast in Guatemala: Where to Eat (First Part)

Of course eating at a home is a great idea, but as far as people at home cook quite fine, restaurants and cafeterias had to be really creative for making to go to have a breakfast there a real temptation.

Almost all cafeterias and restaurants offer breakfast in Guatemala and I don´t know what they all offer, so, I´ll talk about the ones I like. :D They won´t be in any special order but in the order they come to my mind.

Pollo Campero

This is a Guatemalan chain that is the proud of every Guatemalan. It has been successful not just in Guatemala but also in USA where people from Central America and other Latin American countries love to eat there. In 2006 they opened the first restaurant in Madrid (yyyyyyyeeeeeessssssss!!!) but I´m afraid without offering breakfasts! :( Anyway it´s quite normal due in Spain the breakfast customs are so different.

In Guatemala they offer for breakfast eggs: fried or scramble, with tomato sauce and fried plantains, hash browns, cream, fresh cheese, highly-seasoned pork sausage, ham, bacon and/or refried beans as garnish; they also do eggs specialties as Benedictines eggs; croissants, cheese melts, hot cakes and French toasts. For beverage: orange juice and coffee or tea. ¡Just delicious! :)

Wondering, you also can find Campero chicken for breakfast and a lot of people take it… no matter in Guatemala it´s not a custom to take chicken for breakfast!

The way they present the food is also a way to identify this is a Campero breakfast. Even their bread is different in shape but all so familiar in savor, I think this is part of their success clue.



Something else that makes Pollo Campero a special place is their philosophy. They give free education to their employees and also have different social foundations.

Here an ad:



Panadería San Martín

Yeaph, this is a bakery… but they also have a cafeteria with excellent breakfasts! :) What I appreciate more about this place is that they have done an effort for offering different options for breakfast using eggs, with a great result. One good example of this is the Salvadoran breakfast that includes pupusas (delicious!) ;D or the “hidden eggs” one, that is a big bread that has inside the eggs with sauce.



Panadería San Martín is definitely a great option for trying new breakfast experiences! :)

Los Cebollines

This is a Mexican restaurant with Mexican breakfast specialties that are just great! I also love from this chain the decoration of the restaurants. They also offer the buffet option daily.

Here an example of what you can get for breakfast there:



And some pictures to have an idea of the place:



Go to ImageShack® to Create your own Slideshow


Tre Fratelli

This is an Italian restaurant that just lately had incorporated the breakfasts at their services… a quite successful idea! :) The result is some kind of the “Italian” version of Guatemalan breakfasts! ;P (because I know for sure what they offer are things you can´t find in Italy for breakfast!) but anyway, great options! I´m afraid I haven´t took pictures of the menu or the breakfasts and it´s a pity… I haven´t found in internet as well, not even at their web… but believe me, worth to try them! They also offer the buffet option on Sundays.

Here a video of Tre Fratelli catering… yeaph, I know, it just contain few seconds of one of their breakfasts :/ but maybe would be also nice to have an idea about the food they can offer:



El Portal del Ángel


This is a grill place that since the beginning had been taking care about the place itself where they put the restaurant (nice view, good surroundings, well located…), the exterior of the restaurant and the great decoration of the inside.

I´m afraid I haven´t take pictures of the place neither of the menu and wasn´t possible to find it at internet, but I really recommend to visit it and by now, to check out the pictures they have click here.

Nais


This place is already a classic. They started with quite good lunch and dinner options and where one of the firsts to give breakfast options as well. Just give a look at the menu and you will find this is a worth to go there:









On November 2008 they opened the first Aquarium Restaurant of Latin America. I had visited it in February 2009 and yes, it´s beautiful… but you have to pay to enter to the restaurant and if you want a better view they have a VIP option where you have to pay even more for having the privilege of eating there. Ok, the Aquarium is really nice and something quite original… and yes, I understand the maintenance of such a place should be expensive… I just felt expensive the prices they have for that. But it´s a worth view and a nice place.

Here an interview of the history of the group and how they got the idea of placing the Aquarium: (in Spanish)



Here the second part:



Here some views of the result:









(To be continued)

Breakfast in Guatemala: Beverages (Second Part)

Atol: this beverage is a dense and so nutritive one. It should be taken very hot. In Guatemala you can find:

- Corn Atol: it´s made with yellow corn, boiled and then blended, the result boiled again with milk, adding a stick cinnamon and sugar. It´s served with some corn grains.



Here a video about a market food place where they also sell corn atol:



- White Atol: it´s made with white corn dough (very alike the one used to make tortillas). It´s served with “pepitoria” (that is powder of pumpkin toasted seeds), some grains of black boiled beans and chili.



- Atol Shuco: it could be done with white or black corn dough, same procedure as the one before, but turning it sour.

- Maizena Atol: also known as “yuquilla” atol, it´s made with maizena instead of corn dough. It supposed to be good when someone has stomach problems. It can be also made adding savors like strawberry or vanilla.



- Starch Atol: it´s made with starch that, just reading the concept, could be confused with maizena, but maizena is a white powder and starch is a yellow granulate version. The savor is also quite different. Is the same of what is used to make polenta. I like this atole quite a lot! :D



- Plantain Atol: you boil the plantains, blend them and put in a pot again with a cinnamon stick and sugar. Delicious! :)



- Mosh: it´s made with oats, milk and a cinnamon stick.



- Rice with Milk: yeaph! I know! In other countries it´s a dessert because it´s more solid than liquid but in Guatemala it´s quite liquid. You just have to cook the rice with a cinnamon stick and once it´s done, to add milk and sugar as desire. Some people use as well condensed or evaporated milk.



- Rice with Milk and Chocolate: same as before but adding chocolate! :P

- wheat germ Atol: made with wheat germ powder, milk and a cinnamon stick.



- Broad Bean Atol: done with broad bean flour, water and a cinnamon stick.



- Pinol Atol: pinol is a mix of yellow corn, barley, rice and cinnamon, all burnt and ground till being a powder. You mix it with water and sugar.

- Incaparina: this is a product that had been done by a Guatemalan institution for helping kids to have all the required nutrients. It had been created with the sense of helping people without enough resources for having a good alimentation but actually the whole country takes it. There are a lot of schools that give Incaparina daily to the kids as breakfast, but also it´s usually given for babies, daily as well. So, right now Incaparina is a normal use product and even some people just add it to the preparation of other dishes… for example, there are people that make Incaparina hot cakes.



- Atolillo: it´s a mix of rice and maizena with milk and a cinnamon stick.

- Sweet Atol: made with yellow corn dough, rapadura (rapadura = partially processed brown sugar), anise, ginger and pepper.

- Ashes Atol: the ashes are used just for soaking the corn (for a whole night) before cooking it. The rest is like the corn atol.

- Granillo´s Atol: it´s a normal corn atol but adding a quarter part of the corn not well grinded.

- Cereals Atol: made with the mix of corn, barley, wheat, chickpea, broad bean, cinnamon stick, all that grinded till get a powder, then adding sugar and water or milk.