Fields Notes: January 2026

New restaurants in Cuenca, Medellín and CDMX, a cartoon (!), Kola Román, & more.

Salpicón de pescado, arroz con coco, platanos en tentacíon & white rice – Cartagena, Colombia

The above photo is of a fairly typical plate of food in Cartagena, Colombia., It’s something you might find in the Mercado de Bazurto, as I did, or in a family home. There’s both plain white rice and coconut rice, and fish that has been cooked and shredded, and seasoned with aromatics, turmeric, paprika and other spices. What likely is catching your attention, however, is the bananas. What could possibly make them that electric red color? It’s a soda called Kola Román, which was first created in Cartagena in 1865 as a champagne style soda and then recreated in a more popular form in the 1930s. It is believed to be the oldest commercial soda in the world that is still in production. It’s fizzy and bright red like those bananas, and is infused with vanilla. You’ll often see it mixed with powdered and condensed milk for a sweet drink, or mixed with beer in a cocktail called a refajo. The banana recipe, Platanos en Tentacíon, caramelizes the bananas with the soda, along with baking soda, cloves and sometimes vanilla beans.

Where to Eat: Cartagena & Colombia’s Caribbean Coast

The Colombian Caribbean

Cartoon

I’m have been thinking often about finding moments of laughter amidst the chaos in the world right now. Not to ignore it, of course (#FuckIce), but to find joy in spite of what has been going on. I recently connected with Jerry King, a longtime cartoonist for Playboy, as well as for the Wall Street Journal and many other well known publications, and also a fellow Ohioan. When he offered to share a few cartoons about travel and food I couldn’t resist. He would really, really like it if you checked out his Patreon page to help support another independent creator though. You can also order his books, like the brand new Drawing Cartoons Step-by-Step or the older yet brilliant Trickle Down: A Blue Collar Cartoon Look At Economics.