Another Latin representation here in the form of Colombian food. This is where the original Rancho Aelgre was located on Posey between Abercorn and White Bluff. If you had the opportunity to visit it when it was the Cuban restaurant then you know this is in a old house that isnt very large but the space is very cozy and with the right lighting at night be very romantic.
Never having had Colombian food before I took a good look at the menu before ordering and I saw some familiarity with both Puerto Rican and Cuban food but then a few things that I was not so familiar with. Being my first time I decided to go with what I considered a safe dish from the lunch menu and went with Masa de cerdo fritas (Fried Pork Chunks). My dish was $6.95 and, like all other lunch dishes, comes with white rice, a salad, and one additional side which my choice was the Mofongo Plain. My coworker ordered Ropa Vieja and his side was the Red Beans. I'm not sure if either of our dishes were necessarily Colombian being that Mofongo and fried pork are usually associated with Puerto Rican and Ropa Vieja normally associated with Cuban but there may be some crossover I am not aware of being I am not as familiar with Colombian cuisine.
Regardless of what nationality are dishes originate from as soon as they hit they table I was pretty sure this place was going to be legit. First thing you notice is the portion sizes which are HUGE! (See Picture) The salad comes with a balsamic vinaigrette that was tasty and my dish came with three different sauces, a mojo sauce for the pork, a vinegar based sauce for the mofongo, and a pink sauce that the waitress explained was widely used in Colombia and usually put on nearly everything. As for the taste of everything it was absolutely amazing. Even the plain white rice was fantastic. My coworker said the same for his dish and after he nearly devoured everything he looked up in a daze and said "did you want to try any of this?". The only thing he had left was a small piece of the Ropa Vieja which was top notch as well.
As I was leaving I ran into a friend of mine who is Latin and he was telling me this was his second visit and that this place is legit. He had the Antojo Arepa Con Todo with Chicharrons which is a stuffed corn cake type of sandwich (resembled a pita) stuffed with fried pork cracklings and his friend had the Bandeja paisa which is the typical Colombian platter with red bean, white rice, sausage, pork cracklings, ground beef, fried egg, plantain, corn cake, and avocado. Both dishes looked amazing and I will be trying the Colombian platter on my next visit.
The service here was very attentive and helpful when it came to the menu. If you like Latin food this place is a must try. Its fairly new but its only a matter of time before word gets out about this place being they have such good food, at low cost and large quantities. read more