So we have tried Chinese, Italian, and Tex-Mex. I have tried Cuban style pastries. I ventured to a Filipino take-out spot, and even had breakfast food.
Columbian food? Now that is totally new.
Seriously. Like Filipino food, Columbian food is found practically nowhere in the travel mags, or even the write-ups of food critics...at least from my experience. I even heard of British food but they can only be found in either pubs or Renaissance Faires.
My husband's presentation went well, as it always does, and his coworker, Sarah, sat next to me and said after it was over: "He's terrific at what he does. I wish I was that good."
(Good because for years he had an audience of a totally different kind: the audience of the theater...)
We were going to have dinner with both Sarah and Prem that night but somehow it fell through, so Prem lent us the rental car and off we went to celebrate the presentation going smoothly. (We look for the smallest reasons to eat out.)
I drove to the downtown area of Hollywood, Florida where earlier that day, I drove through there to get to the highway on our way to this place called the Monkey Jungle with Prem's wife and little boy, Pranav. This area had more new places to eat than I can count. As we through the street, we spotted a couple of Italian restaurants, Thai and Chinese, but as we had the latter in the past couple of days, and the former we will dine on the next night, we were looking for something different to try. Then we found this place:
It was a Tuesday night, which may explain the emptiness of the place, which at first had me a bit worried...because they say you always look for a crowd, if not a few people in any dining establishment.
My husband wanted to try it anyway. Two guys run the place, and we found out that they were only open for more than a month. A brand new restaurant.
Another thing we noticed was the decor: the tables and chairs came from IKEA, our favorite store! The furniture adds to the modern interior design of the dining area, and we are big fans of modern design.
This place is called Borojo, and wait till you see what they have to offer. First off we ordered this:
Borojo's version of empanadas. Here is a better photo of them:
Two came with each order but they were so small, but yet, full of kick-butt flavor! The corn covering was perfectly crunchy, the best I have ever eaten!!! If only it could be reheated...and if I can figure out how they make this corn mixture for the pastry...
They have a specialty which is also made out of corn for the base, much thicker than a tortilla. At first glance you would think that it would be a tostada, but on some, they do not have a lick of veggies on it. At least, ours did not...they have three kinds of sauces: Basil, Pink, and Pineapple, and each Arepas Gourmet uses each of these sauces, along with our choices of chicken, shredded beef, pork loin, and shrimp. Some of their other signature items include their version of a bechamel sauce, Columbian sauce, and mozzarella cheese.
They also have their own versions of hamburger, hot dogs, and even corn dogs with their signature corn mixture for the outer "pastry". While it is fun to taste another country's version of a common food known to us here in the United States, the reason to come to Borojo are their Arepas Gourmet, or gourmet corn cakes topped with various meats, sauces, and cheese.
My husband's chicken Arepa:
My Pork Loin and Shrimp Arepa with the basil sauce instead of the pink sauce.
The corn cakes were crispy, the sauce perfect, overall, this simple meal gives an impressive flavor punch.
I ordered some more empanadas to take back to the hotel so I can take some photos of it, before devouring them...with Florida being home to a lot of Latin Americans, and this food concept being brand new in my eyes, I wished there was something like this in either Chicago or New York City, where this concept would be pretty successful and a gem for foodies living there. We told them so before we left for the evening.
Back at our hotel room, full of Latin food goodness, and getting rid of blurry pics, it was a very good food day.
They have a web address on the menu, but when I tried to find it on the internet earlier today, they do not have it up yet, but for those on vacation in Hollywood Florida area, or are planning a vacation there, it is a short hop north of Miami, short hop south of Fort Lauderdale, here is their address:
Borojo: 1940 Hollywood Blvd Hollywood, FL 33020
Probably one of the many Columbian restaurants for all I know, in Florida, but it is a new culinary experience that you do not want to miss.