My wife and I eat at at Colombian restaurant called Sabor A Cafe (on Peterson Ave. just west of Western Ave. in Chicago) all the time. i.e. 2-3 times/month. Yesterday we decided to try another Colombian place for the sake of comparison. Wow, what a difference! For an appetizer, we ordered an Empanada Cubana, an Empanada Columbiana, and Chorizo con Arepa. Everything was good, but the Empanada Cubana was simply spectacular. It was like the meat was encased in mashed potatoes. Crispy on the outside and mashed potatoee on the inside. (sometime I want to go there and just order three or four!) The appetizer filled us up, so we decided to share the Pollo a la Parrilla (grilled chicken). Thank god! It was an enormous serving and very tasty (although, I must say not as good as the similar dish at Sabor A Cafe, "Pechuga Al Carbon," which has a better grilled flavor; probably because they have a wood fired grill. On the other hand, the plantano frito that accompanied the chicken here was really, really good). We also ordered a side dish of rice, which we mixed with the requested pico de gallo and home made hot sauce). For desert we shared cocunut flan. The entire bill was $24 + change. Parking was a quarter. Service was excellent. I asked the waiter for a bucket of ice to keep our white wine cold and it was at the table in two minutes flat. Atmosphere is . . . how shall I say . . . authentic feeling? Not fancy. The hot sauce is delivered in a plastic throw-away container, yet they have cotton table cloths. It reminded me of being at a neighborhood restaurant in Buenos Aries. Overall: Recommended. (I'm goin' back for those Empanadas Colombiana!)
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