A special restaurant, on everyone’s list of Top Cuenca “Don’t Miss” spots, we enjoyed lunch at Tiestos last Friday. We weren’t disappointed. Food is different…prepared fresh in a domed clay pot, a “tiesto”. We ordered chicken covered with vegetables, which comes out steaming along with little pots of sides…a cold cucumber salad, motte (corn), rice, boiled potatoes, tiny cous cous. Oh, and before all this, we were presented with bread and 8 pots of different sauces, flavors ranged from spicy salsa to sweet fruit chutney, and others in between. An ancient building, interesting art, fantastic service–all wearing Panama hats, some looking incredibly old.
Worth it. A review from Cuenca Highlife is descriptive: “…And talking about garnishes, don’t you love it when you go to a restaurant and are immediately served, say, marinated eggplant, chimichurri, fruit chutney, chilis, marinated onions and other garnishes? You can test it on bread before you lather it over your entree…”
Juan Carlos describes his style as “traditional Cuencano and fusion.”
This photo of Tiesto’s is courtesy of TripAdvisor
My friend, Mindy, poetnid me to your site, because she’s heard me talking about our crazy idea of moving to Ecuador for the past year or so, too. My hubby went down in June to check things out. He visited Vilcabamba, Cuenca and Quito. All three places had their pros and cons. We’ve lived overseas (Italy) before, so we’re not too worried about complete culture shock, and I’d be excited for my kids (13, 9 and 5) to get a different perspective of the world. But, life here in suburban Maryland isn’t so bad, either, so such a drastic change is a lot to consider. It’s really exciting to think about, though not sure we’ll get the nerve to actually do it you first!