Viva Colombia!

Walking through the doors of Los Parceros from the “crusty, 1950s motel” section of Colfax is like walking through a portal into a Colombian grandmother’s kitchen. It’s a burst of yellow that reels in your irises as small things, like maracas, hats, canteens, animal-hide satchels, and other Colombian iconography introduce themselves from the walls. It’s small, cozy, and apart from my table, no one spoke English. (Except, of course, the staff — but in a charming, pidgin-English sort of way.)

I ordered a frozen margarita “con sabor,” which means they throw a shot of Curacao in there, making it this gorgeous azure color that wasn’t nearly as sweet as it looked, which was great. My date ordered the empanadas appetizer, which were light, flaky, and bomb! The menu says they’re stuffed with beef and potato, but it really didn’t have a beefy taste or texture, which was rather nice and un-chewy. The sauce they were served with — aji, which is made with lime, cilantro, green onion, spicy peppers, and a dash of olive oil — was divine. I literally took the spoon and sipped it once we were out of empanadas to dunk. It tastes like a good soup!

For an entree, we split their national dish, bandeja paisa. I’m not entirely sure what that translates to, but my guess is “Hangover Cure.” It’s kind of like a Colombian version of the classic English Breakfast. (Another hangover helper.) In the bandeja paisa, you’ve got an over-easy egg over minced beef, red beans and rice, a fat little sausage link filled with pork and savory herbs, half a grilled plantain sliced lengthwise, a potato cake, and this enormous piece of pork that’s essentially eight slices of bacon in one. It’s a cross between bacon, fatback, and crackling. Intense. Must love pork. We paired it with some Dos Equis. (For the record, we could only eat a quarter of the dish before tapping out.)

To be honest, I only have one criticism that’s not so positive: The beer wasn’t that cool and it was served in warm glasses that were too small to fit the entire bottle. Apart from that, it’s a charming spot with plenty of street-side parking (with no meters!) that lets you experience a bit of South America for a reasonable price.

I tip my sombrero vueltiao to that!