Colombian food, the rarity of Southern California.
Of all two Colombian restaurants in the greater LA area, I have yet to visit one.
When I lived in Brooklyn, I ordered Colombian food on door dash. There were endless Colombian restaurants and food stands in Sunset Park alone. So why not in Southern California? Are Southern Californians reluctant to try it?
In LA you can find Ramen, Pho, Curry, Thai, Sushi, Halal, and even Brazilian food. So where’s the market for Colombian food?
It could be the lack of Colombian’s in Southern California. I, as a Colombian American, have found myself alone when referring to bocadillo and patacones whenever friends share their favorite food stories.
Are Colombian flavors that far off that not even other Latinx will try them?
Traditional Colombian food is “Sweet y Salado”. Every meal accompanied by a banana, or as Colombian’s call them, guineos. A salty fried fish accompanied by sweet and crunchy raisin filled arroz de coco. There’s a balance there. A balance I grew up loving. A balance that told me to throw sweet and chocolaty chicken mole onto an arepa.
I didn’t know this was strange until I started living with my boyfriend and his Mexican family on their farm.
He laughed at my tolerance for spicy things, which I thought was high considering my father was a Mexican that carried his own chili peppers in his shirt pocket to pair with any meal he found himself eating. My boyfriend said Mexican’s called Colombian’s “dulces”.
Though I grew up in a Mexican/ Colombian home, it was no match for my boyfriend’s family, that still made their salsa with a mortar and pestle.
Ironically enough, when I lived in Colombia, I was constantly craving and on the hunt for spicy food. I was craving a Michoacána style Doritos with tapatio and limon. But the closest thing I found to tapatio was a salsa picante that was mostly vinegar.
Still, living there, I discovered the magic and beauty behind Colombian food.
I can account for every meal I ate while there since I got off the airplane in Barranquilla, it was THAT special. Everything about Colombian food is different from what Southern Californian’s are used to. The flavors can be intimidating as you are met with burst of sweetness followed by saltiness. The combination seems odd but once you try it, it’s unmatched.
In Colombia there is a sort of tamale called a “bollo” (pronounced boyo). There are different kinds of bollos, but the best one is the corn one. The corn one is similar to the Mexican corn tamale, in that it’s slightly sweet and filled with corn. In Colombia, you eat a bollo with a piece of cheese. It is honestly the most heavenly pairing. When I pulled out the queso fresco ‘round Christmas time to eat with my corn tamale, my boyfriend and his family looked at me in confusion and slight disgust. I practically forced my boyfriend to trie it, and to his surprise, he loved it.
In recent times, I have started a side hustle during this global pandemic. It’s cooking and selling Colombian food from my dorm room.
This has entailed extensive research and fun taste testing, that my boyfriend is all too happy to do.
And surprisingly enough, I’ve only been doing this since November and we’re already up to 500 followers on Instagram and selling out every weekend. My boyfriend can’t wait for cooking day because that means he gets to eat one of my Colombian food creations. His favorite thing is the salsa tartara. Which isn’t tartar sauce, but for some reason Colombian’s call it that. The sauce is made with mayo, pineapple sauce (which I make myself), orange juice, shredded carrots and cilantro. It sounds so odd, I know. But it’s honestly the best thing to put on just about anything.
My point is, Colombian food is good. It’s a matter of knowing a Colombian and trying their food.
Share This Article
