Ed U.
Yelp
Way, way, way off the tourist beat - 14 stops away from Times Square on the 7, to be exact - deep in the heart of Queens is this sunnyside-up Colombian coffee shop. Yep, Colombian. Get off at the Jackson Heights station and walk about three blocks, and you're here. It's a friendly place abuzz with locals who seem to know to order off the menu otherwise given to gringos like me. I was with my friend Carlos who was intent on getting his favorite dish, the $7.50 Huevos Rancheros, which came with two fried eggs and very fresh-tasting guacamole (see my photo).
His was good, mine was a bit meh...the drawback of being ignorant in a foreign land. OK, it's Queens, but you know what I mean. I ordered the $8.25 Desayuno Seba Seba #1, which consisted of a grilled breakfast steak, a small Spanish-style omelette, rice and beans, and a flatbread with cheese called almojabana (see my photo). The steak was pretty dry and needed a heavy dousing of hot sauce to wake it up, the eggs suffered somewhat from the same fate, and the almojabana was not quite as tasty as it looked despite the little granules of white cheese spooned on top. The best part was the rice and beans, which had a nice, day-after flavor to them.
Others were having prawns, fajita-looking meats, and all sorts of savory goodies. Lots of mugs of hot chocolate abound since it was a cold, crispy day. Had I known to order off the menu in Spanish, I would have taken a crash Berlitz course. Carlos swears by the place. I'm on the fence. However, this stretch of 37th Avenue looked like a UN general assembly of ethnic eateries, so another ambitious trip out here wouldn't be out of the question, compadre.
FOOD - 3 stars...passable menu fare...I surmise that the key to success is to order off the menu
AMBIANCE - 3.5 stars...a sunny-bright diner and very clean
SERVICE - 3.5 stars...fast, for sure...maybe crack a smile?
TOTAL - 3 stars...it's a long way to Jackson Heights, so bring your overnight bag and maybe your passport