Villa Colombia Bakery

I love the flan and the other Colombian treats. I stopped in here after eating at some local food trucks. The guy behind the counter was nice and everything was good. I won’t come to Elmhurst just to eat here but a fine stop in for desert and cheap.

Just for the bakery; I did not venture over the the hot food section.
— Dark and uncomfortable
— the buñuelos were almost hard; definitely not fresh. They were also lacking in cheese.

This review is for fan #92
Of course it was good… Below street level, busy, and the hot food is unapparent from the outside. It’s an easy formula for a food explorer. I’ve passed by it a hundred times, but before I stepped off the cliff, for a year it was in the back of my head. Like the cute one across the hall who is so quiet.
Step down 5 stairs. The food is still unseen; It’s a bakery. Only after walking 15 feet to the back do you discover 6 tables with heads in bowls of soup, plates of rice, lentils and more Spanish food. Fresh steam tables lead the take-​outs in and out as people speak to Eleanora Rigby their orders*.
For lunch, you’ll can have rice (with peas if it’s your inclination), beans or lentils, a plantain, a little arepa, and an entrée for 5 dollars. 6 with your choice of soup. And it’s a mound of food.
But I don’t like Villacolombia because it’s hidden or because of the quantity and price. Their food tastes great. Colombians make a top tier rice and the savor is not lost here. The arepa similar to the arepa lady’s. Not as good, of course not, but a similar creamy consistency. Add the constantly refreshed ribs, stews, roast chicken and it’s happiness happening all over again.
An entire meal will knock you out. It could hold you over for a whole day or be partitioned into multiple meals. My last order of costillas (ribs) and vegetable soup lasted a lunch and 2 breakfasts (with an added over-​easy egg on each). People say it’s less expensive to cook for yourself, but eating 3 meals for 6 dollars is pretty good.
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*okay, this reference is strange and the line is obscure. The line says «wearing a face in a jar that she keeps by the door.» I always thought this meant the window at the door which she would show her face. Well, when you tell the people here what you want on your plate, you have to communicate through a space of about 1 foot wide. Very cramped quarters, to speak to your Eleanora Rigby. This one doesn’t seem so lonely though.

Damn, I still love this place. My friend got a guava cheese bread there on my last trip to NYC that was crusted with guava paste, inside and out. I almost punched her in the face to steal it away… then I remembered I love her enough to resist. But just barely. Keep doing what you do Colombianos!

I love the lentil soup there. It is refreshing to find a lentil soup that is made with so much flavor. Bland might be good for a nursing home but not for me! IT is only 5 dollars and it comes with rice and a small arepa (corn cake). All of their goods are baked daily. This is recession worthy spot. May I also comment that the coffee is out of this planet… no wait. out of this universe. It blows all competition like pearl harbor in japan.