Antojitos Colombianos revisted

I had been wondering how Antojitos Colombianos was doing. It had been a while; over a year since I last visited the place. It could be that the relatively heavy, hearty, and let's just put it straight "gut-busting" Colombian food served here is not something one eats alone. In fact, on my last visit, over a year ago, I had the good fortune of having Kirbie and DH helping me out.

Still, I was wondering how they were doing, so I managed to talk my good friends, Candice and JohnL into joining me for dinner the week before Christmas.

It was nice to see the familiar faces of the folks working here....it was even more gratifying to see that they had a steady flow of customers. The place looks a bit more spic n' span, but is still that collection of poster and other "stuffs" that first endeared the place to me.

We started with the empanadas, which were nice and light.

I do prefer them fried to a bit more of a crisp texture. The beef filling was fine, but it's all about balance for me and having it just that much more crunchy would have done it for me.....

Of course I had to order the softball sized Papa Rellena.

Stuffed with saffron rice and chicken, along with a boiled egg...I love the crisp exterior and the potato....though I need to remind myself to ask for something picante to have with it the next time.

The Lengua en Salsa is still the best item here in my opinion.

The deep beef flavor along with the tangy-acidic flavors just make this a wonderful dish. I forgot to request yucca frita instead of the stewed yucca....won't forget next time. Still, this dish is still a winner.

I also decided to order the Picada.......a fried pork and carb lover's dream.....or perhaps nightmare.

So the score on this one is four to three....four types of proteins....most of it deep fried; chorizo (Mexican), carne, chicharron, and the best item costilla....deep fried pork ribs. Three types of carbs; arepa (griddled corn cake), french fries (papas), and patacones; deep fried green plantains. In this case the green you see is really for presenation only and that tomato was carefully placed to distract you from thinking about all that other stuff.

Since JohnL got here late, I had the pleasure of ordering for him......since he's a growing boy, though these days more horizontal than vertical, I ordered the gut busting Bandeja Paisa. "Don't worry" the young lady told JohnL when he looked upon this....."we're open for two more hours, so you have lots of time" as she laughed and walked away......

I got no complaints from him...... The chorizo on this plate is the one usually served with the arepa and was really tasty.

We ended with a flan........

As we headed toward the finish line, the owner Javier came out front and thanked us for coming, shaking our hands. It's these touches that makes me want to return....I'll make sure it's sooner than a year this time.

Antojitos Colombianos
2851 Imperial Ave
San Diego, CA 92102
Open Daily 11am - 7pm

 

 

Comments

[kat]

sounds like a great place!

[Su-Lin]

Ooh, thanks for the reminder that I need to return to our favourite Colombian place!

[Kirk]

I really like this place Kat!

Happy New Year Su-Lin! I hope to read about it soon.

[Faye]

Bandeja Paisa looks amazing - is it pricey though? I've never had Columbian food so this place looks fun to try. What is that sauce that comes with the empanada (in the 2nd pic)?

[Kyle]

Wow, thats a meal.

[Kirk]

Hi Faye - I believe the Bandeja Paisa was like $12.99 or so....I'd recommend the Lengua though. That was a mild salsa, Colombian food isn't known for being very spicy.

And a half Kyle...... LOL!

[Kirbie]

I was just thinking about this place. I've ordered yuca fries at half a dozen other places and been disappointed. Need to revisit here.

[Kirk]

Hi Kirbie - Yes, those yucca frita at AC are really good!