Queens has the highest concentration of Colombian food on the East Coast, and almost all of it fits inside a twenty-block corridor. We visited twelve places over three weeks. These are the ones we would send a newcomer to.
Jackson Heights
For breakfast
The 37th Avenue corridor between 80th and 90th is where it all starts. By seven in the morning there is already changua, caldo de costilla and almojábanas straight out of the oven.
- Panadería La 82. Pandebono at $2.50, tinto at $1.75. The cab drivers go before their shift, which is the best signal there is.
- Café Santa Fe. Real changua, with milk and cilantro, $9. Opens at 6:30.
For lunch
- Casa Paisa. Bandeja paisa at $19. Genuinely large, not the version in the photo.
- Sabor Costeño. Shrimp rice and fish sancocho, $16–$21. The only place on this list where the coast beats the highlands.
- La Esquina Vallenata. Weekday set lunch at $12: soup, main, juice. Unbeatable.
Corona
Corona is less touristy and generally cheaper.
- Asadero El Rancho. Rotisserie chicken and santarrosano sausage, $14 for half a chicken with potato and arepa.
- Fritanguería Doña Miriam. Picada for two, $28. Chunchullo, blood sausage, chicharrón, criolla potatoes. Not a place for a quiet conversation.
- Juguería Los Andes. Lulo, curuba, soursop, tree tomato. Large juice with milk, $6.
Elmhurst
- Mi Tierra Bakery. Obleas, pandeyuca and house-made arequipe. A box of twenty pandebonos runs $22 and it is what we bring to any gathering.
- Sancho Bar. More bar than restaurant, but the late-night picada and $6 beer until eight put it on the list.
What we learned
The set lunch is the best deal in the city. Between noon and 4pm nearly all of these places run a menu of the day for $12 to $15. The same food à la carte costs double.
Ask about ajiaco on Thursdays. Several make it one day a week and never advertise it.
Cash. Four of the twelve still take no cards, and two add a 3% surcharge.
Average main-dish price across the list: $15.80. For two people with juice and tip, budget $45 to $55.
Getting there
The 7 train stops at Jackson Heights–Roosevelt Av (74 St), 82 St–Jackson Hts and 90 St–Elmhurst Av. The E, F, M and R also stop at Roosevelt Avenue. From Manhattan it is about 35 minutes from Times Square.
