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 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. yes. oh, yeah. tomas: you don t need the knife. only with the spoon. anthony: you re right. tomas: sorry.
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. tomas: this one is a crab salad. anthony: right. tomas: and this one is our homemade pasta. handmade pasta are fled with labneh cheese and finished wh a chorizo sauce. mm.
north/south divide. chef tomas rueda s tabula and donostia restaurants sit side by side in the macarena neighborhood, where the city s 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 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: mm. now do you cure this first in salt or ? tomas: no. anthony: dry it? salt it? no? tomas: no. anthony: just fresh into the tomas: yes. anthony: delicious. so, you re never getting this off your menu. you ll have to keep this on your menu forever, right? tomas: forever. anthony: yeah. tomas: oh, the best part. anthony: mama didn t raise no fool. santiago de cali, or just cali as everybody calls it in these parts, is a city in the southwest of colombia known for its proximity to the pacific coast and its semitropical temperatures. but i m not really here for the climate. i m here for tejo.
tomas: this is perfect, when you have a good party last night, you get anthony: i was just going to say, this is hangover food. tomas: perfect. anthony: i know hangover food well, and this is good. that s a nice hunk of meat in there. tomas: yeah. anthony: mm, good broth. tomas: yes. anthony: the stock, it s good. so what s this dish called? tomas: beef stock, caldo de costilla. anthony: uh, broth of rib broth. tomas: yeah, it s a rib. anthony: yeah. tomas: yes. with potato, of course. everything with potato. anthony: caldo de costilla con papas. tomas: costi-exacto. very good spanish. anthony: i don t speak spanish. i speak a little mexican. tomas: mexican.