Collin Flatt finds a hidden gem of epic proportions just a drive up North Broad St. into a neighborhood sprinkled with Colombian treasures. Much more about this monster after the jump.
Why no one makes the trek up to Little Colombia is beyond me, but hopefully this find will send foodies and gluttons there with regularity to sample food that doesn’t have much culinary representation in town, and really should.
La Fonda Colombiana on Wyoming Avenue serves the beast above, the traditional Bandeja Paisa, a 1500 calorie feast that includes chicharrón, grilled steak, ground chorizo, a blood sausage, arepa, green plantain, rice and beans in hogao sauce, and a fried egg over rice. A half avocado gives the dish some necessary color and healthy bites in between hunks of flesh.
First off, everything was cooked perfectly. The pork skin was definitely the highlight of the meal, with its tenderness truly surprising, and smoky flavor a perfect foil for the egg yolk and beans. The grilled flank steak was slightly tough, but when eaten with the arepa, was no real issue.
The flavors line up in a weird harmony that forces you to keep moving around the dish, sampling small amounts of each cut of meat and finally mixing them all together and digging deep into the huge pool of beans, which were some of the best I have eaten in Philadelphia.
The restaurant itself was not much to look at from the outside, but the interior is quite pretty and very inviting. A beautiful fully stocked bar was on the far wall, and the tables and chairs were finished wood and the tinted pane windows gave the entire space an intiamte feel.  No one in the restaurant was of the Caucasian persuasion, and usually I find this to be a good sign when eating food from other countries.
The waitstaff was beyond nice, asking often if the food was good and if there was anything they could do. The menu is very deep featuring soups and specialty plates, breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and the Colombian traditional offerings as well. Everything that came out from the kitchen looked fantastic, and I will be sure to go back often to eat everything they can throw at me.
As for the prices? That Bandeja Paisa was $12. Yeah, that’s right. So, I’ll see you there.
La Fonda Colombiana, 108 W. Wyoming Ave. (215) 455-4301
– Collin Flatt
The platter you highlighted looks good. How is the breakfast taco selection?