After a day and a night in Colonia, we'd seen about everything. The next morning we hopped a bus through the countryside to Montevideo, Uruguay's capital city of 1.5 million people.
We rolled into town during Holy Week, which we can tell you is about the worst time to check the place out: Everyone's fled for the beach. On the other hand, you'll have the town to yourself to check out the restaurant scene.
We wouldn't be doing our job if we didn't mention the Mercado del Puerto. It's sorta like Pike Place Market in Seattle in that it's super touristy but cool enough that you don't mind. There's not much shopping to be done--lunch is the thing here.
Though there are probably dozens of restaurants in the market, all of 'em specialize in wood-grilled meat and offal. As far as we could tell, you can't go wrong; we ate a pile of sweetbreads, morcilla and sausage at the bar at La Chacra del Puerto.
For a meal with a bit more class, Don Trigo on Plaza Constitución is in a loft-like space, has a long bar and a giant wood grill of its own. The menu isn't too inspiring, but our entrecote was well-prepared and the ricotta ravioli were tasty. Late nights, the place gets a little sceney with spillover from the bars down Bartolomé Mitre street, a few blocks away.
Related Stories:
· Mercado del Puerto [Official Site]
· Don Trigo [Official Site]
· Uruguay Field Trip coverage [Jaunted]
· Uruguay coverage [Jaunted]
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