Cuenca's dining scene was a nice break. There is a small collection of Colombian cafés on Honorato Vasquez, which were all excellent and a welcome change from Ecuadorian food. Even the food at the bus station was pretty decent, good for early morning departures when nothing else in town is open yet. And one night I splashed out with a really nice meal.

Moliendo Café on Honorato Vasquez is slightly more expensive than Ecuadorian places, but worth every penny. The dish recommended by Lonely Planet is the arepa mixta, which is a plate-sized arepa smothered in a large mound of beans, cheese, and meat. It is really gigantic for $2. I had my own definition of arepas, so I didn't think it would be enough, and ordered a $.40 empanada to go with it, which was perfectly fried and stuffed full of chicken and potatoes. Delicious. Then the arepa came and I realized my mistake. Another time I tried their arepa con queso. It was good, but not the yellow sweet-corn version I was expecting, which I now think is called arepa de choclo.

Rapides Colombianos is another great café on Honorato Vasquez, small and very cute. At both Colombian places I tried, the staff was extremely friendly and sweet. For breakfast I ordered another plate-sized arepa, this time topped with two fat, crisply fried chorizos (fresh, not dried) and the whole thing smothered in tasty guacamole. It was $1.50 for this amazing meal.

La Viña is a charming Italian place on Jaramillo that I visited with Geertjen. It was a little more expensive again, around $5-$6 including wine, but I had a great spaghetti carbonara...one of my favorite dishes.

My splurge was at Café Eucalyptus on Gran Colombia. Jenna and I happened to go on Ladies' Night (Wednesday), so with our entrées, we got unlimited wine (or beer). Café Eucalyptus is basically a theme restaurant, with small plates and entrées from all over the world, but the theme works and the food is excellent. We had salad, fried yucca & cheese pancakes for an app, two entrées, dessert, many glasses of Argentinean wine and paid a whopping $9 each. Definitely a splurge as Ecuadorian food is so cheap. But it was definitely worth it, a fantastic and fun night.

I mentioned in the overview that Ecuadorian food is not a highlight. But in Cuenca, I was able to really enjoy eating - because I wasn't eating Ecuadorian food. Take advantage of it!

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