tomas: this one is a crab salad. anthony: right. tomas: and this one is our homemade pasta. anthony: thin sheets of handmade pasta are filled with labneh cheese and finished with a chorizo sauce. mm. so, you used to be in a band? you used to be a musician? is that right? tomas: yeah, i m still. anthony: still? so what happened, man? how how did you go from music to restaurants? tomas: rock and roll don t give me money. anthony: good. tomas: it s good, yeah. it s really good. anthony: well, it s great that business is good because generally speaking, the only worse idea than i think i ll try to make a living making music is i think i ll make a living, like, opening a restaurant. i see why that s so popular. good stuff. tomas: thank you, tony. anthony: tomas s take on osso buco uses beef shank instead of veal, which is braised overnight with vegetables, wine, and broth in a wood-fired oven. anthony: oh, whoa. it s got a it s huge.
anthony: bogota is the largest city in colombia and the economic heart of the country. about a fifth of the population lives here, many of them very well, but some, not so well. it s a city with a marked north/south divide. chef tomas rueda s tabula and donostia restaurants sit side by side in the macarena neighborhood, where the city center meets the north. the lunch tomas is serving us here at tabula is defined more by high-quality fundamentals than by high-concept theories. if there s a theme here, it s that ingredients this good, meticulously prepared, are the essence of great eating. it s a beautiful space. so, how s the restaurant business in, uh, in bogota? tomas: it s a very good business. a lot of people with money, they
anthony: i didn t think i was going to make it out of the airport. tomas: most of the mornings, early in the morning, 5:00 or 6:00 in the morning, i climb the mountain. anthony: why? tomas: fresh air. anthony: okay. tomas: you have to come with me and anthony: hell no. it ain t happening. tomas: you want to taste some arepa? this arepa is made with corn. hola. [ speaking spanish ] it s fantastic. i love it. anthony: tucked away in a back corner of the fish market is a place that serves breakfast to the market s workers and shoppers. we re talking beef short ribs simmered in an oily broth with potatoes, salt, and scallions. tomas swears by this stuff, a traditional breakfast soup from the andean region. here we go.
don t know how to cook. anthony: nobody cooks at home. maybe their cook does. so they eat out a lot? tomas: yeah, it s a new part of our culture. everybody wants to go to a restaurant. anthony: so 10 years ago, 15 years ago, what, traditional, casual food, uh tomas: yeah. anthony: a few fine dining, you know, white tablecloths served with what, french or continental or italian? but this is new? tomas: yeah, it s a new stuff. it s a new business. it s a new world. but i think the two great values from colombian food the mixtures of the culture, yeah? anthony: right. tomas: black people, indian people, white people, that mixtures is beautiful. and the other one is all of this region, all of the mountains, all the valleys, all the rivers, all the sea, we are like a big farm. a beautiful farm to send all these products to the world. i believe more in a beautiful carrot than a great recipe, yeah? anthony: right.
not just to get up but to rise. anthony: bogota, the country s capital, and an almost two-mile-high city with new lofty food ambitions where previously, a restaurant scene didn t really exist. now young restaurateurs, such as musician-turned-chef tomas rueda, are beginning to make a name for themselves in colombia. man on street: please, please, please. tomas: this is paloquemao. this is one of the biggest