Yuri Y.
Yelp
It was a rainy day and we had a craving for empanada and coffee. This part of Passaic has several South American restaurants bunched together on Main, and on impulse we wandered into Macondo. Pleasant little bakery that also serves savory Columbian specialties luncheonette style. This food is still a mystery to me, mostly because in many respects it is indistinguishable from the cuisine and dining style of many other Latin countries, except of course to the natives. Most folks know empanadas, and they do a decent one here stuffed with beef, chicken or potatoes (or some combination of these). They were fried to a nice crisp and flavorful on our visit, served with a spicy red sauce on the side, sorta like a sriracha. The chicharon was good too, if a bit chewy. We split a Fritanga Bandeja, a kind of Columbian National dish. This huge plate of mystery beef smothered in beans, rice, fried plantains with an egg on top was accompanied by Arepa (a cornmeal bread). The coffee was very good. It was a filling and flavorful meal and the tab was very modest. Could never eat this way regularly, but it was a pleasant escape to the land of Columbian comfort food.