VAMOS A LA PEQUENA COLOMBIA

MARCI

On a beautiful Sunday afternoon, Jeremy, guest blogger Max (Jeremy's buddy) and I headed to Jackson Heights, Queens to taste the savory cuisine of Colombia.

We got off the subway at 74th and Roosevelt, the heart of Little Colombia. Most of the signs were in Spanish -- taco stands dotted the street as well as other restaurants from South American countries like Ecuador and Peru.  On one side street, a festive fair was underway.

It was fun to watch the boys out of their environment.  They were a little unnerved at first because of all the stories they heard about Colombia.  But they quickly realized that the drug lords were far from Queens.  We arrived at La Pequena Colombia, the oldest Colombian restaurant in Jackson Heights.  I was expecting it to look more like a coffee shop but it was almost fancy.  The waitress helped guide us through the menu to make some selections of famous Colombian dishes.

JEREMY

The restaurant was really big.  We were the only non-Colombians there.  We ordered a bunch of appetizers and Colombian sodas.  First came the drinks:   Manzana and Colombiana.  The Colombiana tasted like cream soda and Manzana, an apple soda, tasted like cotton candy.  Then the appetizers came:   Chicarron, the fried pork rind was pretty good.  It was crunchy and tough at the same time.  Then came the Arepa Con Queso.  It looked like a pizza but was made with cornmeal topped with cheese.  It also tasted like pizza, so it was good.  We also has Tostones, fried green plantains that tasted like banana chips.

MAX
I expected the restaurant to be less nice than it was. It was actually nice on the inside.  I liked the Manzana soda; it tasted like candy apples.  I thought the Arepa was good because it tasted like pita bread with cheese on top.  I disliked the sausage because it looked and tasted weird.  I liked the Plantains because they were slightly sweet and they came with an onion salsa.

JEREMY
The first main course to arrive was the Plato Motanero de Carne Asada, a large platter with rice beans, eggs, chorizo, sweet plantains, skirt steak and avocado.  The dish was so big, they had to put it on two plates.  I liked the eggs, the rice and the steak.  We also ordered Pork Tamal.  The tamale was also really big but it did not taste good.  My mom ordered Sancocho de Gallina. It was a bowl of chicken soup with a plate of rice, beans and a chicken leg.  The soup tasted like taco sauce.  The Fried Cassava, a side dish, tasted like french fries.  The food wasn't really that spicy, which is too bad because I like spicy food.


MAX


I liked everything on the Mountain Plate except for the beans and the sausage.  The steak was really think and tasty.  The tamale smelled pretty badly because it was wrapped in banana leaves and steamed.  I tasted it but didn't like it.  I liked Marci's soup because it tasted like tacos.  The fried cassava tasted like sweet french fries and were yummy.


MARCI


The portions at La Pequena were anything but pequena.  In fact, we brought home enough to feed a small family.   The only thing that was small at the restaurant was the check, a rare occurrence in NYC.   I agree with the boys:  my favorite appetizer was the Arepa.  The Sancocho, a typical Colombian meal, was actually quite delicious.  It was a bowl of a hearty chicken soup filled with cassava and green plaintains.  Once again too full to have a dessert, we decided to talk a walk and sample some of the baked goodies in Little Colombia.


JEREMY
First, we stopped by a little bakery and my mom ordered us a Bunelo.  It was a fried dough ball about the size of a size of a baseball.  It wasn't greasy at all and it wasn't as a sweet as a doughnut.


MAX
I thought the Bunelo was really good and big.  It tasted really yummy.


JEREMY
We went to a second bakery and bought more arepas.  One was sweet corn and we also bought some arepas con queso for later in the week.  The sweet corn arepa tasted like corn bread.


MAX
I agree.


JEREMY
Going to Pequena Colombia was a good experience with nice food.  If the restaurant was closer, I would definitely go back.


MAX
Going to Queens made me feel like I was in Mexico.  I wouldn't go back because I didn't like the food.

LA PEQUENA COLOMBIA
83-27 Roosevelt Avenue
Jackson Heights, NY 11372
(718) 478-8700
www.pequenacolombia.com

a thumbs up according to Jeremy is 4:5 stars