Monday, March 21, 2011

Empanadas & Pandebono

Cafe Columbia
222 S. Glenoaks Blvd. 
Burbank, CA 91502


My work just relocated and I've been searching for something good to eat in the local area. After surfing the web for a while I decided to try this little hole-in-wall restaurant named Cafe Columbia.

The cafe had an incredibly cheap 2 course lunch special. For $7.50 you get:

1st course: Choose between a soup or salad
2nd course: Chicken or beef served with rice, maduro (fried sweet plantains) and veggies. 

I ordered the soup and the beef which turned out okay. It was definitely a generous portion for the price. Although I don't have pictures of the lunch special to share with you, I do have pictures of the things that "wowed" me at Cafe Columbia. Here goes:

Columbian Soda
When I asked the nice lady who worked at the restaurant what Columbian sodas they had, she said that they had two kinds. One that had a bubble gum flavor and the other that had an apple flavor. I chose the bubble gum flavored one, and it was good. It reminded me of the Japanese soda "Ramune" that I used to drink as a child. Anything that brings me back to my childhood is a plus for me. =)

Empanada with Aji Sauce $1.50

This is by far the best empanada that I have ever tasted. It was filled with a mixture of beef, potatoes, and hogao. The outside was made of cornmeal and cooked perfectly. It was very crisp and flaky. I loved ever bite of it. 

The green sauce on the side is called Ají. It's a mild sauce made with cilantro, green onions, garlic, and 
Ajíes (medium hot chile peppers). It was the perfect match for the empanada....but then again, I'm a sucker for sauces. 

Inside of the empanada
Pandebono $1.25
Pandebono is basically Columbian cheese bread and it is soooooo good. The texture is kind of chewy due to being made with tapioca flour, but I love that about it. The cheesy flavor really came through. After one bite, I had a huge smile on my face. 
It reminded me of French 

Gougères, which I am a big fan of. 

These little babies are ADDICTING! 
The first thing I did when I got home was look up a recipe. I can't wait to make these at home. 

Inside of a pandebono
I would definitely go back to Cafe Columbia so I could explore the rest of their menu. The empanada and the pandebono alone is enough to make me a return customer. 
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