📍Restaurante Idilico, Medellín

Arepa at Restaurante Idilico

A few hours after coffee at Café Urbania, we went to dinner. I had a shortlist of places I wanted to visit that I created before leaving New York. Restaurante Idilico was on that list. I asked around the Medellín expat/nomad crowd for recommendations and Restaurante Idilico was also in those recommendations.

It was raining on and off, at times more than a drizzle. We walked over and got seated immediately. It was one of the few places that asked about reservations. In the long rectangular dining room, there were tables on either side. Maybe 70% were in use. The tables were meant for 2 or 4 people. The lighting inside was directly in the mood category. I would consider this a trendy date night spot.

Branded Napkin and Corn Ribs at Restaurante Idilico

The first dish was called Corn Tentacles. I think that was intentional and not a product of Google Translate. I've seen these in a few other places but essentially they cut the cob of the corn so the kernels remain stuck together on a sliver of the cob. This seems to naturally curl–I'm guessing as I've never seen these presented straight.

Like most fruit and vegetables in Colombia, the corn tasted incredibly fresh. It's hard to tell in the photo but it had some kind of smoked pepper aioli, chives, and a firm but not hard, salty cheese similar to Cotija. They made a play on esquites that I was there for. The other interesting piece was the fried root vegetables for crunch and texture called yacon. We considered ordering a second round of these.

This arepa was topped with roasted pork mixed with tomato and onion. This was topped with more of the cheese that was also on the corn, some kumquats, and edible flowers. The black sauce wasn't just a garnish plated to look like Medellín's skyline, it was made of apple and squid ink and brought a lot of flavor to the arepa. The pork was tender and juicy while the arepa brought a beautiful crunch to the bite.

Pork Ribs with Layered Potato at Restaurante Idilico

For my main, I got the Pork Ribs with Layered Potato. It came topped with a salad which I'm grateful for because vegetables weren't that common on menus and an onion foam with tomatoes. All of this was served in a pool of suero, a kind of sour cream that is thin and very tangy.

The potatoes were thinly sliced, layered, and pressed down. That block got sliced and crisped up on the edges. The center was tender with a slight toothsome texture. The crispy edges, if you're a fan of that kind of thing, really hit the spot. They were simply seasoned, I could only detect salt and pepper. Mix that with the abundant sour cream and you're close to matching the flavor profile of a baked potato.

The pork was sliced perpendicular to the rib, flanken style. It had a good deal of chew without being tough. The bones were a bit difficult to find under the salad, however, I estimate that it was an 80:20 meat-to-bone ratio. There was a barbecue-style glaze to the pork that gave it a little sweetness and caramelization.

This wraps the first full day in Medellín. More to come.

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