In full disclosure this was my first Colombian dining experience and what a delightful experience it was. I have driven my this establishment many times and never given it a second thought, till I read a Yelp review by someone, who's palate I respect, so here I am. It is a large dining room, once you enter the restaurant and many tables were full with patrons enjoying their meals.
I tentatively approach the counter with the big chalkboard above it and have no idea what is coming next. I was greeted by a very friendly waitress speaking Colombian, I knew I was doomed. I responded 1 word "English". At that point another woman joined the first and both spoke great English. They explained different items to me and as the menu was also in Colombian they assisted me in picking out what I wanted to order.
Wow, the hard part was over or so I thought. The ordering had gone great and I was just waiting for my food. The 2 women, one of which I think is an owner kept an eye on me and reassured me my food would be ready very soon. I had ordered Bandeja Paisa platter with: grilled beef, pork rinds, Spanish sausage, eggs, plantains, rice, beans and corn cake for $9.99!
When the server brought my platter of food, yes I said platter, she watched for my reaction. Well it was a first, it was a lot of food and it looked delicious, she asked if it was okay, honestly I wouldn't have know the difference, but couldn't wait to dig in.
The egg was on top off my rice and that seemed odd from an American perspective, so I moved it on top of my corn cake. I tasted the corn cake and it really had no flavor, so I thought I would use it kind of like toast under the egg. The platter was full and there was no place to put the egg by itself.
The grilled beef was a very large piece of beef, pounded thin and then grilled with perfect seasoning, it can only be cooked well done, due to being pounded thin and it was very tender. The pork rind literally blew my mind and also made me chuckle to myself. It is about a foot long and is the rind end of a slab of bacon. There is about a 1/4 inch of fat next to the rind, then it comes up into little fingers of bacon and it is golden brown and deep fried. This is absolutely nothing like the pork rinds, we Americans buy in a bag! This is artery stoppage gluttony, at its best. I gingerly cut into the smallest finger and separated it from the rind and paced it in my mouth, with no idea what to expect. It had the fat taste of bacon, but not a greasy cooked taste. Many restaurants fry our bacon in deep fryers to insure it is crispy, we are just not privy to this information. Okay I like and could possibly love fried pork, remember this is a first for me, so please allow me to get my feet wet with this great Colombian food.
When I know from the start I can't finish the enormous amount of food placed in front of me, my mind automatically goes to what will reheat best as leftovers, so I kept this thought in the back of my mind as I discovered and enjoyed my dinner.
The egg was cooked perfect sunny side up and I ate it on the corn cake, have to admit the corn cake did nothing for me personally. Oh the Spanish sausage, so yummy! The flavor was spicy, but not overpowering and it was not greasy or oily tasting , no this was not going to make it home, this had to be finished. The plantains were cooked perfectly and were sweet and delish. The rice was a huge portion, not sticky, perfectly cooked white rice and the larger red beans were in a separate bowl, they were seasoned and cooked perfectly. I made a well in the center of my rice and poured the beans into my rice. I was given 2, I believe homemade hot sauces 1 green and 1 red, I tentatively tasted each. In Mexican food, you usually have to watch the green sauces for their heat, it was the opposite at Mi Bandera. I added 2 of the little cups of red hot sauce to my rice and bean mixture and did not have to worry about any sinus problems, LOL.
What can I say about this meal? It was prepared with passion and cooked and seasoned perfectly. I got much more food than I deserved for my dollar and more than enough for another meal, in the people bag I took home.
This restaurant is sparkling clean, friendly, a foodie paradise and a bargain, how can you go wrong? Yes, that was a YES I will be back.
What's a girl to do? This year I am testing and expanding my palate and this was a great addition. read more