Everything is homemade, and the food changes depending on what the restaurant has prepared that day. Instead of ordering individual dishes from a big menu, you usually choose from a few options that have been prepared for the day. Very often there is not even a printed menu. Someone just tells you what they cooked that day, and you pick what sounds good. This was challenging at first because many of the foods I had never heard of, so without a printed name or visual, I was ordering randomly almost every day. But luckily, whatever you order is going to be delicious, even if you do not know what it is originally.
Definitely! Corrientazos are very connected to everyday life in Colombia. In fact, everyone at my university and at most workplaces gets two full hours just to eat lunch. That is in huge part because in Colombia, lunch is the main meal of the day, whereas in the U.S., I think most people would say dinner is our main meal.
Another really unique part of the corrientazo is where the restaurants are located. Many corrientazo places are family-run restaurants that are inside or attached to people's homes. Have you ever gone to a restaurant and it is just someone's house? I certainly hadn't before coming to Colombia!
Sometimes you walk through what looks like the entrance to a normal house and there are a few tables set up in the front room, patio, garage or downstairs area. The kitchen might be just a few steps away, and the same family may be cooking, serving the food and taking payment.
