Friday, May 26, 2006

Colombian Cuisine in Renton?

The State of Washington has only one Colombian restaurant, and it is right here in Renton.
The Mexi-Cali(as in Cali, Colombia) is at 239 Sunset Blvd N., Renton 425-917-8886, and serves both Mexican and Colombian cuisine. The menu is mostly Mexican, but Colombian cuisine is quite different from Mexican, and the Colombian entrees are served with yucca and fried plantains, and black beans.
It is much closer to Brazilian, both geographically and cuisine-wise.
I've now been there four or five times, and like the place. It's cheap, the service is efficient and friendly, the food is unusual and good, and they have a salsa bar, and a chipotle salsa that's smokey and hot.
Tonight I had the garlic shrimp, which was cooked nicely and had plenty of garlic. The menu features a number of Mexican shrimp dishes, as well as a whole fried fish, Colombian style.
Colombian cuisine also favors tender beef, which is served in most dishes with a tangy tomatoey garlicky sauce.
All in all, Mexi-Cali serves food that is pretty unusual...the food is consistantly good, the prices are right, and they do Mexican food better than most Mexican places.
This is a place that deserves to be busy, and would be mobbed if it were in Queen Anne or Wallingford or Capitol Hill.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

where is this located? is this around Amante's and the DOL?

Freakazoid Freddy said...

No, the columbian place is on Sunset as if you were going to head up the hill to Renton highlands, but not that far. Not too far from the Burger King, in the same complex as westernco Donuts, across from Omar Khayam middle eastern restaurant.

Anonymous said...

As far as I can tell, they've closed and put another teriyaki place there. I'm sad because my husband is Panamanian and we would have delighted at the similarities of the food from this bordering country. Do you know if they moved?