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Sometimes you just don’t have the time to casaquear, chit-chat, but you still need your daily dose of the best coffee in the world, from Antigua Guatemala of course, so you don’t doze off and for that you head over to Café Condesa Express where you can get your caffeine fix very quickly. If you also need a sugar high, make sure order a pastelito to go with your coffee. Enjoy!

Interesting enough, I have not encountered many restaurants that offer waffles; or perhaps I wasn’t looking. However, for some reason, waffles jumped at me at the menu from Café La Casaca the first time I visited and I just had to have a waffle. Of course, if you drive to Guatemala City you can have waffles and pancakes at the IHOP restaurants, but I wouldn’t drive to GuateCity just for that. Interesting enough, there’s a Casa Internacional del Waffle or just La Casa del Waffle in San Lucas, but I have not got the chance to try them there.

Do you know of other restaurants in Antigua Guatemala or nearby that serve waffles?

Today was a day full of news. First of all, I learned from my friend and ADP collaborator Guy Howard that Hector’s Restaurant made to the number one position at TripAdvisor for their restaurant listings of Antigua Guatemala. Of course, that’s no news to you guys since you have already since many of the dishes that Hector prepares. The first time I had sweet potato fries was at Hector’s and although I have had them a several places now, some in the U.S., I still believe Hector’s version to be the best.

Next, was the released of the behind the scenes at the making of the video clip of “Fuiste Tú” of Ricardo Arjona and Gaby Moreno in Guatemala a couple of weeks ago. You can watch the video below.

Last but not least was the 15th year anniversary of signage of the Peace Accords. As in every year since the signing, people argue that basically not peace was signed, but the accords have not been met. Or well, that’s how it is in Guatemala and it’s better not think too much of it. We just have to continue pushing for the accords to be upheld.

Enjoy!

Since several people were interested to know more about La Casaca shown yesterday in the entry entitled Having Breakfast in Antigua Guatemala I decided to follow up with another vista and little more information. La Casaca coffee shop is located where Un Poco de Todo bookshop used to be on Portal de las Panaderas; that’s the west side of the Main Plaza where you can also find Café Condesa, Condes Express and Café El Portal. That makes seven coffee shops around Parque Central which includes Café Barista and “& Café” on the northwest corner and the Bagel Barn on the southwest corner. Double the number of coffee shops if we say within one block from Parque Central.

Do you still have any doubts about what’s the most popular drink served in Antigua Guatemala?

A sad aside is the fact that we have lost three bookstores in recent years, each for a different reasons, but at the end it comes down to same economic reason. We lost Librería El Pensativo, Hamlin & White and Un Poco de Todo.

This could be your vista if you decide to have breakfast at the terrace of La Casaca coffee shop in Antigua Guatemala. From this vantage point, you can hear the murmur of the people at the Main Plaza, the squeaky sounds of the carriages, the ringing of the bells of the Cathedral on the other side of Parque Central all while sipping the hot and delicious cup of coffee.

I know, life is though in La Antigua Guatemala.

Who says you can not enjoy the patio dining areas during the rainy season? It is a good thing that most restaurants are covering their patios with transparent lamina roofs so we can enjoy the sunlight and the patio dining areas with rain or without.

¿Quién ha dicho que no podemos disfrutar de los comedores en los patios durante la temporada lluviosa? Es una muy buena idea que muchos restaurantes en La Antigua Guatemala han empezado a cubrir sus patios con techos de laminas transparente para que uno pueda disfrutar de los comedores en los patios con lluvia o sin lluvia y de la luz al mismo tiempo.

We are very fortunate in La Antigua Guatemala because we have great coffee available all year. In case you didn’t know delicious coffee berries are grown all around Antigua Guatemala in the many coffee plantations. One can find the coffee berries in many stages as shown in The Ages of Coffee. Furthermore, the latest trend is that roasting and grinding of coffee in situ so we can have the best and freshest cup of coffee at several cafes like Fernando’s Kaffee and Micho’s Café as shown in the picture above. Needless to say, Micho and Fernando are great hosts and loving sharing the passion and knowledge about coffee. A visit to these cafes is a must if you’re visiting Antigua Guatemala even for a day!

Somos muy afortunados de vivir en La Antigua Guatemala porqué tenemos fabuloso café todo el año. En caso no lo sepan, la fruta del arbusto del café es cultivada por todos lados alrededor de La Antigua Guatemala. Uno puede encontrar la fruta del café en varias etapas de su vida como lo mostramos en Las Edades del Café. Mejor aún, la última tendencia es encontrar varios cafés que tuestan y muelen el café in situ para darnos la mejor y más fresca taza de café posible. Fernandos Kaffee y Micho’s Café son apenas dos los cafés dónde uno puede degustar una taza del mejor café del mundo. No hace falta decir que tanto Micho como Fernando son excelentes anfitriones y les gusta compartir su pasión y conocimiento del café. Una visita a estos cafés es una obligación incluso si sólo se visita La Antigua Guatemala por un día.

Palacio de Doña Leonor, one of our loyal premium sponsors, is a gorgeous hotel located only steps from Parque Central. Palacio de Doña Leonor also has a restaurant and bar which I’ve been meaning to check out for a long time. Recently I learned that they’re having a Monday Martini Night with live acoustical music every week starting at 6 pm. Click the flyer thumbnail to see their Monday special. I think I will have to sacrifice myself again for the benefit of you, my loyal readers, and the first Monday I get a chance I will order a few martinis, shaken, stirred, chilled or on ice, dry, sweet or with a twist. Heck, why not try them all in all the different versions; I mean is there a better way to start the week? Who wants to come along?

Following the advice provided by RWOrange on Dining in the Garden from a few days ago, I decided to pay a visit to Epicure since it’s been a while since my last visit. Also, what better way to continue the dining in the garden series than having lunch in the lush garden in the back of Epicure. Click the thumbnails below to get an idea of how exuberant the garden really is.

I had Epicure’s al dente pasta with a Camembert creamy sauce. It was simply delicious.

As far as I know, Epicure is the only place in La Antigua Guatemala where one can have British-style fish and chips, including the malt vinegar. Do you know of any other place in Antigua Guatemala where fish and chips is available?

We are so lucky in La Antigua Guatemala that almost every day of the year we can dine in the garden. The weather and temperatures conditions through out the year in Guatemala allow for outside dining. Of course, unless you rent an apartment or house in La Antigua Guatemala, the closest you can come to experience of the dining in the garden is if you visit the cafe at Vivero La Escalonia or Sabe Rico restaurant.

I am sure there are other restaurants with dining areas in the garden; can you share with us any other names?

The restaurant located on the best spot of Santo Domingo del Cerro goes by the name of Tenedor del Cerro. The views from this restaurant are simply breath-taking, especially during the dry season when you can see all three volcanoes hugging the Panchoy valley. Next to the restaurant there are a couple of terraces with magnificent views; plataformas they call them and there are many tables and lounge chair for you to sip a hot cup of coffee or cool down with Moza or Cabro as well as your favorite cocktail.

I recommend a visit to Santo Domingo del Cerro as well as Cerro de La Cruz and Finca Filadelfia to get the best panoramic vistas from the quincentennial colonial town of Santiago de Guatemala, also known as La Antigua Guatemala.

Sabe Rico Restaurant, Chocolatería & Delicatessen is a great place to have delicious and nutritious breakfasts in La Antigua Guatemala. The range options goes from typical Guatemalan breakfast, tamales, et cetera all the way to fresh fruits and home-baked artisan bread slices with home-grown basil pesto and bacon.

The Sabe Rico large cup of coffee is HUGE; one of the largest cups of coffee I have ever seen. I am sure Starbucks’ largest size is much smaller than Sabe Rico large cup.

Another wonderful aspect of Sabe Rico is the fact that tables are randomly placed in a beautiful and quiet garden in the back of the restaurant.

La Cocina del Obispo Restaurant is located in San Juan del Obispo, perhaps a 10 minute drive from La Antigua Guatemala. The restaurant is family owned and opens only on the weekends. You’d be amazed on the variety of food.

Anyway, this time I went with Lomi Kriel and Norman Ávila. Rudy was supposed to join us, but he cancelled. Lomi had the Pepián, which by the way they even have been awarded a first prize for the best Pepián in Antigua Guatemala! Norman had a Churrasco chapín (Guatemalan barbecue grill) and I had Subanik; a classic dish from Las Verapaces. All food is fabulous there; the prices are excellent and the atmosphere is just amazing. I wish Rudy would have been there, he is a far better food photographer than I am; anyway, here is my attempt at joining the food photos with a portrait of each of my friends

The conversations were just great, we even talked about gadgets, geeks, history, and even beer

A bit later on, I’ll tell you about the other times I have been there. I just have to look up the photos in my external hard drives.

text and photos by Arturo Godoy.

In La Antigua Guatemala we’ve started the tradition to have sushi for lunch on Fridays; it’s Rudy’s fault really since he organized it. The place: Ubi’s Sushi because is quite affordable, and just exquisite. We call them Viernes de sushi.

Bit by bit, the group has grown, and today I found myself amongst graphic designers that also love photograph. It was a great lunch, we talked about movies, music, food, and of course photography. I think Antigua’s Photo Club will also have two new members.

The more the merrier and a larger group to share the passion for photography and the good living. Who knows, these lunches might be the beginning of Antigua’s Epicure Club because as @ienilara declared: Somos sibaritas

text and photos by Arturo Godoy. Check out Arturo’s portfolio to purchase photos from his massive photographic bank.

I can’t believe Héctor’s restaurant will be celebrating its third anniversary already on Tuesday, September 21. That’s quite an amazing feat for a restaurant with no name, no sign, and no advertising, except, of course, for word of mouth advertising. I congratulate Héctor for such achievement and hope to be there for a feast.

These are some of the gourmet dishes from Héctor’s that I have highlighted in AntiguaDailyPhoto.

Needless to say Héctor’s restaurant is one of my favorite dining spots in La Antigua Guatemala. Here’s Héctor’s business card for those wondering where is the restaurant located: