El Molinito Restaurante Colombiano

COLOMBIA 🇨🇴

EDITOR'S NOTE: An updated version of this article (09 May 2025) is available as part of the Historical section of our Substack page. Check that out here:

https://eattheworldla.substack.com/p/el-molinito-restaurante-colombiano-los-angeles

📍  8535 Washington Blvd., Pico Rivera, Southeast Los Angeles

While only Hawthorne or the area directly surrounding it could be mentioned as somewhat of an epicenter of Colombian food in Los Angeles, restaurants cooking that nation's food are generally spread out sparsely throughout the city. Even so, this stretch of Washington Blvd. through Pico Rivera seems a most unlikely place to find a restaurant that has been cranking out destination-worthy plates for Colombians from near and far, and a neighborhood favorite for almost 20 years.

When you enter, there is a small area that can get cramped with people picking up orders or getting food to go, but around the corner is a very comfortable dining room with plenty of art, handicrafts, and other recuerdos de Colombia. A TV is tuned to a Colombian channel or football on weekends and often times a good percentage of the tables are in use by couples or families.

If you take a seat at one of them close to opening, a strong list of breakfasts will probably catch your eye. At the top of the list is the calentado ($12.95, above), named for the frijoles calentados that make for a hearty breakfast with plenty of calories and protein for working the land all day. In English they call this "mix platter," which hints towards a variety of other items that come alongside the beans and rice.

Any respectable breakfast must include an arepa de queso, which is very good here. Two eggs come over easy unless you request them another way, and a thin piece of carne asada finishes the mix and is somehow the weakest part if you have to pick one. Mix it with bites of eggs, beans, or rice and it works just fine.

On this visit the breakfast was so satisfying that an order of more to take home could not be passed up and quite a few options were requested. If you do the same, be sure to check the order before you leave as they do get quite busy with takeout orders and mistakes can be made. This order was unfortunately missing two pieces of pan de bono and two empanadas, only a $6 error but still sad as they were both looked forward to very much.

The rest of the order was delicious enough to ease any resentment, starting quickly with the pollo sudado ($13.95, below), on-the-bone chicken that is made into a "sweaty" stew consisting of tomatoes and other vegetables. Potatoes and yuca make this a very hearty dish, and since it is served over a bed of rice it can probably feed two people easily.

If your fellow breakfast diners are not enjoying dishes with eggs, they will probably have a tamal tolimense ($8.25, above and below) in front of them. This style of tamal is from the high altitude Andean department of Tolima, but has become popular throughout the country and in expat communities abroad. Once again it packs a high calorie punch for breakfast, usually the heartiest meal in Colombia.

These tamales are wrapped in banana leaves, keeping the masa and rice base of the dish very moist with all the fats of various sources. Pork ribs and pork belly are joined with a full drumstick of chicken. Potatoes, carrots, peas and a boiled egg are all included as well, covering just about all the bases. If you want the true spirit of a cold mountain morning, add a hot chocolate to enjoy next to your tamal.

Shift northward in Colombia to Antioquia department, where in its mountainous regions was born frijoles paisas ($14.95, below). Inside the bowl are large hunks of pork belly and small bits of vegetables along with the paisa pinto beans. The ripe tomatoes, onions, and the spicing makes this deeply savory, a touch sweet, and very satisfying.

Served alongside the beans is a plate of fried chicharrón, fried patacones, an arepa, and the silky oily Colombian-style white rice. It makes for many different types of bite combinations, all wonderful. Any order here will also include the bright green ají so you can spice up anything. Since there were no empanadas to drizzle this over, it worked well with bits of chicharrón and patacones, as well as the tamal tolimense.

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La Chiva Colombia Lonchera

COLOMBIA 🇨🇴

EDITOR'S NOTE: An updated version of this article (13 February 2025) is available as part of the Historical section of our Substack page. Check that out here:

https://eattheworldla.substack.com/p/la-chiva-colombia-lonchera-long-beach

If you have ever gotten out of major cities during travels in Colombia, no doubt you have taken a chiva or two on the country's mountainous roads. Long journeys between Andean towns or other rural places are made by these colorful buses, which also serve as a means to transport all manner of goods that need moving. The cargo on top usually adds a meter or two in height, and the inside is rarely filled with only humans. Every usable inch is used and each trip is always maximized in every way.

This is the spirit with which La Chiva Colombia Lonchera was made, plastered with the bright primary colors of the Colombian flag and offering an unbelievably wide array of home-style foods from around the country. The truck itself is a spin-off of a new restaurant in Buena Park, which opened right at the beginning of the pandemic last year.

The lonchera hides off busy Atlantic Avenue in this part of Long Beach (actual a cut-out of Signal Hill), but is unmissable to anyone headed to and from Target. The brilliant Colombian flag reflects sunshine down the entire block. Stepping up to the truck is almost overwhelming, as the entire restaurant menu is available including breakfasts served all day once they open daily at 10:00.

If you are not in the mood for huevos pericos and frijoles calentados, start with a simple arepa con queso ($5, above bottom right). More than anything, this begs to be eaten immediately so that the corn cake can be enjoyed in its crisp toasty glory. A crumble of cheese on top is slightly burnt on top, just right.

Stacks of meat are common in Colombian meals and can be enjoyed just the same here from the truck. The largest may be the picada, which piles many meats with fried yuca, potatoes, arepas, plantains and more, but they also offer a few different types of bandejas. In addition to the ubiquitous bandeja paisa, they have the more "premium" bandeja La Chiva ($21, above) which serves meats from the sky, land, and sea.

A cut of steak, grilled chicken and shrimp, and fried chicharrón all seem to be marinated differently and make for much more than a pile of meat. A slice of avocado and accompanying rice and beans make the bandeja (tray) enough for many meals, unless of course you require this many calories in one sitting for a full day of work as the dish is intended. No matter what entree you order, chances are good that a full styrofoam container of white rice and nicely seasoned fries will be included. This duo seemingly doubles the size and any takeaway order (the top photo of the full order shows these), and makes it feel as you are leaving with a feast when carrying bags back to your trunk.

Colombian seafood dishes do not require the absolute freshest catch like ceviches might, but even so the quality of the catch here is somewhat surprising given the nature of its origin and reasonable price points. Taking home a large order of sophisticated dishes like cazuela de mariscos ($21, above) is such a privilege. This seafood stew is filled with fresh (and immitation) crab, mussels, shrimp, squid, and probably more.

The cazuela is a dish that lets you enjoy the strong Caribbean accents of Colombia's Atlantic coast, thick with coconut milk and heavy cream. The seasoning is comforting while far from overbearing and might even require being cut with some water as it is so full of meat.

Another surf and turf option is the churrasco con camarones al ajillo ($20, above), an intensely rich buttery garlic ride. The sauce for this is like a concentrate and begs for both hefty scoops of rice to join each bite and plenty of the included ají to help cut the richness.

Once again the cut of shell steak is surprisingly nice and the shrimp are plump and fresh. At this point orders of the fried whole porgy or any other fish or seafood dish should not be shied away from, the truck has a deft confidence in every dish they prepare.

📍 800 E. 33rd Street, Signal Hill, The Harbor

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Eat the World Los Angeles is and always has been free. It is a hobby born of passion and never solicits money or free food from restaurants. No advertisements block the content or pop over what you read. If this website has helped you explore your city and its wonderful cultures a little better please tell your friends about us and if you have the means to contribute, please consider doing so. Eat the World Los Angeles is a labor of love, but also takes a lot of money and time everyday to keep running.

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Nene's Colombian Food

COLOMBIA 🇨🇴

EDITOR'S NOTE: An updated version of this article (02 December 2024) is available as part of the Historical section of our Substack page. Check that out here:

https://eattheworldla.substack.com/p/nenes-colombian-food-lawndale-los-angeles

In January of this year, the chef of La Casa de las Parrilladas in South Gate passed her business card for the brand new restaurant she said had just opened. This was housed in the former space of Rincón Ecuatoriano in Lawndale along Prairie Avenue, right along the neighborhood's zig-zagging border with Hawthorne.

At La Casa, the Colombian food was noticeably better than the Puerto Rican offerings, reflecting the true skills and roots of this chef. This made the promise of a new restaurant focusing on the traditional foods of Colombia very exciting, and a first look at the menu was no disappointment. Three pages offer a range of foods from breakfast to dinner and all the small plates and appetizers in between.

While looking over the menu and deciding, give yourself a treat and order one of the fresh fruit juices or shakes like this batido de guanábana ($4, above). As always, you can combine the fruit with water or milk, the creamy latter option combined with crushed ice and fruit in the above version.

The back page of the menu is where to find starters and quick bites like their beef empanadas ($1.50 each, below). The deep fried corn pockets are filled with ground beef and plenty of flavorful spicing, but even better yet is served with a lovely spicy dipping ají. On a second visit, a takeout order after the meal was unable to proceed because a customer had called in and bought every last empanada made that day.

The back page also has baked bread products like buñuelos, almojabanas, and pan de bono, the last two of which are recommended for anyone craving cheese. The listed tamal tolimense ($9.50, not shown) is unfortunately harder to get your hands on, only available during holidays and when large orders are placed.

Cheese is also an important part of the simple arepa con queso ($3.50, below), perhaps the most iconic offering from Colombia. These thin arepas come served with many of the plates that you might have for breakfast or lunch, but in its purest form it is also very enjoyable. The flattened corn cake is grilled with plenty of butter and offers a lot more richness than it may seem on first glance.

Whenever an ajiaco makes its way to a menu, it is an easy decision to order. Ajiaco bogotano ($13.99, above) may appear like a simple chicken and potato soup, but there are three types of potatoes in there including the delicious small round papas criollas grown in the Andean highlands. Rice, avocado, and half an arepa are served with the soup, to be used as you like.

The broth is smooth and creamy from the dissolving of softer potatoes and mixing in the sour cream that it comes with. You will also taste the herb guascas, another ingredient that must be imported from Colombia. You will get capers as well, so throw those in and enjoy.

The perception of Colombian food is often deservedly very heavy and meaty, with many thanks for that going to the massive bandeja paisa, the signature meal of the country designed to provide energy for a full day of work. For something (slightly) smaller, enjoy the frijoles paisas ($14.99, above and below), which centers itself around the bowl of namesake beans.

This dish originates from the Antioquia department around Medellín and inside the bowl are large hunks of chicharrón and zucchini along with the paisa pinto beans. Served alongside the beans is a plate of more fried chicharrón, fried patacones, half an arepa and the silky oily Colombian-style white rice. It makes for many different types of bites, all wonderful.

There are also a few seafood options on the menu, as Colombia has both Atlantic and Pacific Ocean coastlines. Along with fried whole tilapia and seafood stews, you can also get unique dishes like this filete de pescado sudado ($11.99, above). Do not be alarmed by the literal translation to "sweaty fish," as this preparation refers to the steaming it gets before having salsa slathered over.

The tomato-y, garlicky salsa is the star here and covers the fish, potatoes and yuca that come with it. You can get this preparation for chicken as well. Another sculpted mound of delicious rice and a salad of tomatoes, cucumbers and onions make for a hearty meal.

📍 14607 Prairie Avenue, Lawndale, South Bay

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Eat the World Los Angeles is and always has been free. It is a hobby born of passion and never solicits money or free food from restaurants. No advertisements block the content or pop over what you read. If this website has helped you explore your city and its wonderful cultures a little better please tell your friends about us and if you have the means to contribute, please consider doing so. Eat the World Los Angeles is a labor of love, but also takes a lot of money and time everyday to keep running.

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La Casa de las Parrilladas

🇨🇴 COLOMBIA

🇵🇷 PUERTO RICO

 

EDITOR'S NOTE: An updated version of this article (24 May 2024) is available as part of the Historical section of our Substack page. Check that out here:

https://eattheworldla.substack.com/p/la-casa-de-las-parrilladas

In possibly the world's first Colombian-Puerto Rican restaurant, a husband and wife team (She is Colombian, he is Puerto Rican) have staked their claim by waving the flags of both on California Avenue in South Gate at a somewhat cursed space. In the past decade, this location has went through iterations as a traditional pupuseria, then a modern Mexican and Salvadoran mariscos joint, and finally a Thai restaurant that only survived four or five months in 2018.

So of course it is going to take something special to change the bad luck of this address. The restaurant began life as a simple Colombian restaurant but soon hosted a pop-up called Puerto Rican Flavors until it stopped operations in early 2020 before the pandemic.

If you ever made it to Gloria's, a beloved South Gate restaurant that was just a couple blocks away, you will be happy to know that the chef here is Doña Gloria and her cooking lives on. She has also decided to take up the challenge of keeping Puerto Rican food on the menu and has been doing that since shortly after the pop-up ended.

For now, it is still the Colombian food that makes La Casa de las Parrilladas a great destination to eat. Dishes like her ajiaco Bogotano (above) are obviously cooked with the love of a passionate chef. This deeply comforting chicken soup is made with three types of potatoes including small round papas criollas that are delicious and grown in the Andean highlands.

The broth is smooth and creamy from the dissolving of softer potatoes and herbal from its key ingredient of guascas, another ingredient that must be imported from Colombia. Stir in the crema if you like and make sure to add all the capers if you are getting the dish for takeout. Immediate transport to Bogotá!

Always the gold standard of any Colombian, the bandeja paisa ($12.99, above) here is also a classic crowd pleaser. All the elements are done well, the textures of the chicharrón, the marinade of the steak, and the great beans and rice. Best of the bunch might be the supremely tasty link of chorizo. Top it all of with some fried sweet plantains and fried egg, and all is well in life.

Don't pass on the chance to fill your takeout bag with some of their fried empanadas ($1.50 each, above) filled with ground chicken and just about perfect. These are best eaten immediately and not allowed to sweat in their container if possible. They are paired with a Colombian-style spicy vinegar salsa which is great, but are so full of flavor that they can be eaten on their own.

Looking towards the entrees on their menu that have a Puerto Rican flag drawn on them, the mini mofongo (below) was unavoidable. The typically Borinquen dish is definitely not mini, and gets served with a good portion of arroz con gandules, some greens, and a pile of roast pernil, which is also mingling within the main dish of fried mashed plantains.

Mofongo may not be the best dish to warm up later, which was how this was eaten a day after ordering. For this reason possibly, that part of the dish was quite dry and the pernil with rice became the star. One thing that did get done perfectly was the aftertaste of garlic that lingered in the mouth the rest of the day.

The small relleno de papa (below) is a must order appetizer from the Puerto Rican side of the menu. What is stuffed inside the potato is wonderfully spiced ground beef, after which the whole ball is thrown in the fryer to give it a crisp coating.

While Gloria's was the beginning and La Casa de las Parrilladas is the present, the future of the chef is here and Hawthorne, where she has also opened another restaurant called Nene's Colombian Food. A business card for that place was passed after the last visit and conversation.

The to do list always grows at a higher rate than it shrinks.

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SOUTH GATE Southeast Los Angeles

8109 California Avenue

La Maria Colombian Restaurant

🇨🇴 COLOMBIA

EDITOR'S NOTE: An updated version of this article (19 January 2024) is available as part of the Historical section of our Substack page. Check that out here:

https://eattheworldla.substack.com/p/la-maria-colombian-restaurant

 

The colors of the Colombian flag are no strangers to the restaurants that serve the food and culture of the country throughout the United States and beyond. A bright sign facing a high-speed section of Victory Boulevard announces the restaurant in yellow, blue, and red, as does the brightly painted facade behind it.

It is more likely that you enter through the rear of the restaurant and its small parking lot, but there are plenty of the same colors back there, as well as the terracotta roofing decor that is found both outside and within. The tables alternate the three colors with bright tablecloths. Little motifs of houses, paintings showing colonial architecture and scenes from back home set the rest of the mood.

In the morning, there may be no quicker way to a Colombian's heart than the plate shown above, an order of frijoles calentados ($10.50), which is served with both huevos pericos and a cheese arepa. The former is often paired together, and mentioned on the menu, the arepa came as an unmentioned bonus! Regardless, for the price it is quite a filling hearty breakfast any day of the week.

While the namesake of the breakfast order might simply just mean "heated beans," there is much more to them than that. Calentado is also the word used when talking about a traditional Colombian breakfast in general, and that will always include the a mixture of beans and rice made from the leftovers of yesterday's dinner.

Huevos pericos are almost as simple and just as delicious, scrambled eggs mixed with tomatoes and green onion. Along with the arepa, a block of white cheese sits on the plate as well. Add a wonderful cup of café con leche ($3.25, not shown), and the perfect breakfast sits in front of you.

After breakfast, and especially on weekends, La Maria livens up with Colombians from the Valley who come in for food and football. It is one of the few places around town that you can catch Colombian league matches later in the day, as well as all the more popular European leagues.

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NORTH HOLLYWOOD San Fernando Valley
10516 Victory Blvd

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