restaurant review: carmen in medellin

When Mr. Sazy Rock and I travel to research the food of an area, we tend to try street food, casual dining and fine dining options. After all, we believe that all the food - whether street, casual or fine - reflect the people. After all, those who can afford fine dining are just as much a part of the populace as those who can only afford street food and vice versa.

That being said, whether a particular restaurant or a particular dish is good is more a reflection of the proprietor and not of the food of the region or country. Put another way, not all restaurants serve good food. Some are better at creating tasty dishes than others. That, I believe, is true everywhere around the world.

Carmen.

During our recent trip to Medellin, one of Mr. SR's colleagues suggested we try Carmen, a fine dining restaurant in the Poblado neighborhood. We decided to give it a go since we have been eating at a lot of fast casual restaurants and sampling street food at stalls around town.


The Scene
Carmen was located in a quiet street in a swanky neighborhood. Diners were dressed nicely.  We also saw more couples on fancy dates or celebrating anniversaries, than group diners. It definitely felt like a special occasion restaurant.

The top and bottom floors were minimally decorated and gave off a zen-like atmosphere. The white tablecloths were spotless.

The Food

The Starters.

The Mains.

The Specials.

From what I could gather, Carmen's cuisine tended towards "international." They had deconstructed Banh Mi and Korean taco, which we did not order. Instead, we ordered the following:

• Amuse of Spiced Nacho - the nachos tasted very light, and served with corn, milk, and diced chicken and bacon. I thought it had a nice texture that contrasted well with the creaminess of the dish. Mr. SR thought it was underwhelming due to the lack of brightness in the dish. 

Spiced Nacho.

• Foie Gras Carimanola ( a meat pie or like an empanada) - This dish tasted like it had a lot of truffle oil and sour cream. It was also chewy. Finally, I could not taste any foie gras. I cannot say that I liked it. 

Foie Gras.

• Salmon Crudo - the sauce was like a thick ponzu in that it was bright and gentle with the saltiness. the salmon was topped with peach palm purée, which I thought was a bit grainy. The salmon itself was meaty but had a bit of an aftertaste. 

Salmon Crudo.

• Pez Negro - the fish was nicely done but the plating was not pretty. That being said, the fish was flaky. The agnolotti was al dente. The sun dried tomato and olives were fried so they provided great texture. 

Pez Negro.

• Ribs - although the ribs were braised, they tasted a bit dry. They also looked overcooked in a fall-off-the-bone type way. Mr. SR sent it back and told our server that the dish was overcooked (sobre cocido) and very dry (muy seco). 

Ribs.

• Complimentary Petit Four - cupcake with white chocolate - the chocolate was wet and the cupcake was nondescript.

Petit Four.

• The wines needed to be chilled more. They were also kept far away so we had to always ask a server to pour us more. 

The Service
The servers were very nice and friendly. They also spoke English. They offered menus in both Spanish and English.

The Verdict
Carmen was a popular spot. But, I was disappointed with the meal. Other than the Pez Negro, I felt like the meal was a waste of calories. While it was not as expensive as the fine dining restaurants in the US, it still cost us about $120 (including the booze and the dish we sent back). I do begrudge the price because I could have eaten a whole lot more Bandeja Paisas at Mondongo's.

Such a shame, really. Because Carmen just seemed so promising.