La Tipica is the full Colombian experience
By Cloe Cabrera
LA TIPICA COLOMBIANA
WHAT: A warm and relaxed Colombian restaurant and bakery
WHERE: 2310 W. Waters Ave., Tampa
HOURS: 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday
CREDIT CARDS: All major
CALL: (813) 931-9300
R E V I E W
TAMPA - Henry Moncada and his wife, Alba Varon, call their delightful restaurant and bakery La Tipica Colombiana because they serve typical Colombian dishes and baked goods.
But that's not the only reason.
Open the door to this storefront eatery in West Tampa and you're in for another pleasant surprise.
Its interior is reminiscent of a South American village, with a lovely mural covering one wall, original art, wooden miniatures and posters on the others. Pink carnations sit on brightly colored pink tablecloths.
``We want to give our customers the full Colombian experience when they dine here,'' says Moncada, who has operated the restaurant a little more than a year.
Each weekday features a special such as arroz con pollo (chicken and yellow rice) - Colombia's version has an ample amount of peas and carrots with yellow rice and chunks of chicken; tamales, cornmeal patties stuffed with corn, meat and vegetables; and mondongo (tripe). Prices start at $4.50. All meals come with a soft-crusted corncake roll called arepa.
For the ravenous, there's Bandeja Paisa, Colombia's most popular dish, piled high with a slab of palomilla beef steak, fried pork rind, fried egg, white rice, arepa, strips of fried plantain and the most wonderful pinto beans. Nothing on the menu tops its $6 price.
Dishes aren't spicy, but you can order a homemade green salsa called aji that will add plenty of heat. Its made from cilantro, onions, jalapen~o and avocado, and is great with any of the meals.
Sancocho (soup) is popular in all regions of Colombia, and La Tipica offers several varieties that satisfy, including sancocho de pescado (fish), gallina (hen), carne (beef), verduras (vegetable) and pastas (noodle). Soups (starting at $4.50) are served with a side of white rice and a salad, or pinto beans.
The adjacent bakery offers more than a dozen fresh baked goods, including arepas con queso, a thick corncake with the cheese bubbling up on top; almojabanas, flavorful circular cheese rolls; pan de yuca, cassava meal bread; and antojitos (appetizers) such as chorizo (fried Colombian sausage), morcilla (blood sausage), papa rellena (stuffed potato) and pastel de yuca, a tasty, meat-stuffed cassava empanada fried crisp.
A myriad of fresh juices includes mango, pineapple, guayaba and moro, mixed either with water or milk.
Save room for the Salpicon, fruit cocktail in a red juice, or Champus, a sweet gelatin of corn, brown sugar, orange peel and lulu fruit.
La Tipica Colombiana
