The traditional food comes from Antioquia, the region to northwest and famous for the city of Medellin. Lunch-time meals usually consist of a soup made from plantain a variety of green bananas, followed by a plate of rice and selection of fried pork, beef, or chicken, with small cabbage salad in vinegar dressing, a natural juice drink made from mango, or if you are adventurous, try one of native fruit flavors, they are delicious but hard to pronounce, this will usually be followed by a coffee. Sometimes, you might be offered a dessert called mazamorra, which is corn and milk with local sugar, called 'panela'. They also use panella and water in making coffee, but don't recommend it, as the taste is very sweet, actually coffee served here is exceptionally sweet and unless you are a fan of sugary tasting coffee, ask for coffee made from plain water.
The water quality here is excellent Manizales' water is on the top 10 of best quality drinking waters in the world, it is very pure also it is possible to drink straight from the tap here but not in all parts of Colombia is this true, so no need to purchase bottled water and taste is great!
If you're visiting the 'Los Nevados' Natural Park ask for 'aguapanela con queso' while going there. It's a hot beverage made of sugar cane served with cheese. Also look for cheese icecream, chorizos from Santa Rosa and obleas.
