Thursday, July 28, 2011

QUITO

BAKERIES, COFFEE, ICE CREAM, JUICE & TEA
Plaza Grande Hotel Café – Calle Garcia Moreno (at Calle Chile); 011-593-2-251-0777; plazagrandequito.com; for great hot chocolate.
Swiss Corner – N38-41 Avenida De Los Shyris (at Calle El Telegrafo); 011-593-2-280-5360; bakery-deli.

BARS & NIGHTCLUBS
La Boca del Lobo – 294 Calle Calama (at Calle Reina Vicoria); 011-593-2-252-7195; labocadellobo.com.ec; red lounge and glassed-in patio; serves fried appetizers for midnight snacking.
Q – E6-12 Calle Marsical Foch (at Calle Reina Victoria, at NU House Hotel); 011-593-2-255-7840; quitoq.com; live music after 10 p.m. on Fridays.
Bar Hacienda Rumiloma – Calle Obispo de la Madrid (at road’s end); 011-593-2-320-0953; haciendarumiloma.com; more than 10K’ up and at end of long, pot-holed road; on Pichincha Volcano’s slopes Irish Pub with wood-burning fireplace.
Theatrum Restaurant & Wine Bar – N8-131 Calle Manabi, 2nd floor (Centro Historico, between Guayaquil and Flores, at Teatro Nacional Sucre); 011-593-2-257-1011, 011-593-2-228-9669, or 011-593-9-972-1652 (cell); theatrum.com.ec.

HOTELS
Casa Gangotena – 541 Calle Bolivar (Centro Historico); 011-593-2-400-8000; casagangotena.com; historic mansion overlooking Plaza San Francisco; 33 rooms with painted tin ceilings, antique furniture, and marble bathrooms; 8 rooms have plaza views.
Hacienda Rumiloma – Calle Obispo de la Madrid (at road’s end); 011-593-2-320-0953; haciendarumiloma.com; more than 10K’ up and at end of long, pot-holed road; on Pichincha Volcano’s slopes; elegant, luxurious, rustic feel.
Hotel Patio Andaluz – N6-52 Calle Garcia Moreno (between Calles Mejia and Olmedo); 011-593-2-228-0830; hotelpatioandaluz.com; 32 elegant rooms with antique-style furniture.
Hotel Plaza Grande – N5-16 Calle Garcia Moreno (Centro Historico, at Calle Chile, on main square); 011-593-2-251-0777 or 888-790-5264; plazagrandequito.com; 5-story, neoclassic (former Hotel Majestic), restored, into just 15 suites; heated marble floors in bathrooms; groundfloor café; June-September are driest months but climate always mild; of rooms facing plaza, #34 has small balcony.

RESTAURANTS
Astrid & Gaston – N32-302 Calle Coruña (at Gonzalez Suarez); 011-593-2-233-3061; astridygaston.com.ec; Peruvian restaurant (international chain).
La Chillangua Verde Esmeralda – N25-165 Calle Zaldumbie (at Calle Toledo); 011-593-2-222-5313; leafy outdoor patio; specializes in coastal Ecuadorian cuisine, especially ceviche; try camarones encocadas, rich seafood dish prepared with coconut juice; also serves breakfast.
El Dorado – E14-200 Calle Federico Paez (at Gualguiltagua); 011-593-2-333-1486; on slope overlooking city; some of city’s most ambitious cuisine; luxury ingredients and “vacuum-bag” cooking.
La Gloria – N24-519 Calle Valladolid (at Francisco Salazar); 011-593-2-252-7855; lagloria.com.ec; Ecuador-outpost of Lima establishment; Spanish-style cuisine in residential neighborhood; try suckling pig or fideua (noodle-based paella).
Hacienda Rumiloma – Calle Obispo de la Madrid (at road’s end); 011-593-2-320-0953; haciendarumiloma.com; more than 10K’ up and at end of long, pot-holed road; on Pichincha Volcano’s slopes; for romantic dinner overlooking city; elegant, luxurious, rustic feel.
Metro Cafe – E6-18 Avenida Orellana (at Avenida La Rabida); 011-593-2-255-2570; 24-hour diner; also, good breakfast option with pancakes, omelets, etc.
Q – E6-12 Calle Marsical Foch (at Calle Reina Victoria, at NU House Hotel); 011-593-2-255-7840; quitoq.com.
Segundo Muelle – N24-883 Avenida Isabel Catolica (at Gangotena); 011-593-2-222-6548; segundomuelle.com; international chain (other countries are Panama, Peru, and Spain); seafood dishes.
Swiss Corner – N38-41 Avenida De Los Shyris (at Calle El Telegrafo); 011-593-2-280-5360; for breakfast.
Theatrum – N8-131 Calle Manabi, 2nd floor (Centro Historico, between Guayaquil and Flores, at Teatro Nacional Sucre); 011-593-2-257-1011, 011-593-2-228-9669, or 011-593-9-972-1652 (cell); theatrum.com.ec; Latin-tinged, Mediterranean menu.
Zao – Avenida Eloy Alfaro N10-16 (at San Salvador); 011-593-2-252-3496; zaoquito.com; bald knock-off of Tao (in Los Angeles, CA), down to oversize Buddha, cocktails, and dance music; Chinese, Japanese, and Thai dishes.
Zazu – Calle Mariano Aguilera 331 (at La Pradera); 011-593-2-254-3559; zazuquito.com; tucked into “luxury ranch house that wouldn’t seem out of place in Malibu”; affordable, 7-course tasting menu.

SHOPPING
Folklore Olga Fisch – E10-53 Avenida Colon (at Avenida Caamaño); 011-593-2-254-1315; olgafisch.com; native crafts with small museum upstairs.
Mercado Artesanal La Mariscal – Calle Jorge Washington (between Calles Reina Victoria and Juan Leon Mera); 011-593- 02-299-3300; stalls of indigenous art.

SIGHTS & SITES
Basilica del Voto Nacional – 122 Calle Carchi (at Calle Venezuela); 011-593-2-228-9428; Ecuador’s largest gothic cathedral.
La Capilla del Hombre – EA18-143 Calle Lorenzo Chavez (Bellavista, at Calle Mariano Calvache); 011-593-2-244-8492; capilladelhombre.com; 3-story culture complex since 1985; conceived by Oswaldo Guayasamin.
Centro Historico – city’s old center and UNESCO World Heritage site; closed to traffic on Sundays from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
La Compania de Jesus – Calle Garcia Moreno (near Calle Sucre); 011-593-2-258-4175; Jesuit church is among South America’s great baroque masterpieces; built from 1605-1765; intricately decorated with stunning gold-leaf altarpiece.
El Ejido Parque – La Floresta (at Avenida Patria Quito); 011-593-3-295-9632; indigenous(-ly garbed) artisans sell in stalls at north end park on most weekends.
Folklore Olga Fisch – E10-53 Avenida Colon (at Avenida Caamaño); 011-593-2-254-1315; olgafisch.com; small museum upstairs has pre-Columbian artifacts and post-colonial art.
Itchimbia Centro Cultural – Itchimbia Hill; 011-593-2-258-4362; centrocultural-quito.com; Art Nouveau, glass and steel structure imported from Hamburg in 1889; moved to this location in 2004; bar on lower level (Pim’s, part of Ecuadorean chain).
Parque Itchimbia – N4-108 Calle Jose Maria Aguirre (at Calle Concepcion); 011-593-2-322-8470; quito.com.ec; offers panoramic city views, including historic center and winged Quito Virgin (in distance).
Plaza de la Independencia – Centro Historico (bordered by Calles Chile, Espejo, Garcia Moreno, and Venezuela); surrounded by cathedral, Presidential Palace, Archbishop’s Palace, and City Hall.
Plaza San Francisco – off Calle Bolivar; dominated by church and convent.
La Ronda – Centro Historico (also known as Calle Morales); where balconies decorated with flags and flowers and restaurants bustle.
Teatro Nacional Sucre – N8-131 Calle Manabi (Centro Historico, between Calles Guayaquil and Flores; 011-593-2-295-1661; teatrosucre.org.
Teleferico Cable Car – Calle Arnulfo Araujo (at Avenida Occidental); 011-593-2-222-2996; teleferiqo.com; carries to Cruz Loma viewpoint, which is 13K’ above sea level; on top, nature paths and coca tea in mountain lodge, which counteracts high altitude.

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