Mmmmmmm!

One of our favourite things about traveling is experiencing different cultures through food.  From local diners to fancy restaurants, we love how different flavors are combined and presented.  Today was a fun food day as we experienced amazing food in two very different settings.  The first was breakfast... we wandered around the narrow, cobblestoned streets of old Quito looking for a good place for Desayuno (breakfast).  We stubbled upon a little spot that seemed full of locals (always a good sign).  We got the last table at the back of the restaurant and looked around to see everyone enjoying the same dish.  We mentioned to the waitress that "we'll have what they are having"... she responded with "Of course - that's all we serve!".   Breakfast consisted of freshly made bread with fresh cheese, a plate of sauteed beef with a delicious and greasy sauce, rice, peas and carrots, and rice - as well as juice and coffee.  It was a HUGE breakfast that filled up us for most of the day and it was $1.75 each.

Feeling like we saved so much money on breakfast, we decided to go to a nice restaurant for dinner.  We chose Casa Gangotena's restaurant, which is inside the beautiful and very fancy hotel at San Francisco Plaza.

The restaurant was very high-end with beautiful flowers and art throughout.  Michael ordered the grilled beef tenderloin with andean potatoes and pumpkin ravioli.  The tenderloin came with 6 different accompanying sauces!  Tenille ordered the Ecuadorian veal stew, which was also very delicious.  Although we felt a little under dressed in our travel clothes, we had amazing service and very much enjoyed the fine cuisine.

Although we're both so full from dinner... there's always a part of me that's excited for the next meal to come!