El Drugstore

Occasion: Lunch in Colónia del Sacramento
Location: El Drugstore, just off the Plaza de Armas in Colónia, Uruguay
Edibles: I had garlic shrimp and a ham-and-cheese omelet; Elizabeth had the chicken breast with roasted pumpkin

Musings: Led astray by another bad recommendation. Now, I don't take restaurant recs from just anyone, but the guy who suggested this place to us seemed to have solid credentials: 1) he lived in Tribeca for a few years; 2) he now lives in San Diego; and 3) we met him at Casa Felix. When he learned about our upcoming daytrip, he warned us about the 1-hour time difference between Buenos Aires and Colónia, which caused him and his friend to miss the ferry. They spent the majority of their 3-hour wait for the next ferry at El Drugstore. "The name is cheesy," he said, "but the food is great."

What I'd like to know is, what did this guy order?

My overall impression was of tourist trap mediocrity. The food took forever to come. When it did, my shrimp had charred bits, but strangely so - as if the pan hadn't been washed in ages, or the chef burned the garlic REALLY badly and then threw the shrimp in anyway. Elizabeth's chicken was pretty average and the pumpkin was cold and under-seasoned. The omelet was the best of the three items; it was monstrously huge and stuffed full of ham and cheese. Between the two of us, Elizabeth and I only finished about half. (I was very tempted to give the rest to a very cute and earnest-looking stray dog that was hanging around.)

Colónia seemed pretty touristy in its entirety so I don't know that the other choices were much better. But if you find yourself there, try your luck somewhere else; this place is a definite loser in my book.