December 28, 2010

Best Colombian Restaurant In Miami? La Ventana (trust Me)

I almost fell down on my knees when I tried the shredded beef patacones at La Ventana restaurant on Washington Avenue in Miami Beach, and believe me, it takes amazing food to get my attention - I eat all the time, I am always after the best bites in South Beach - and I probably have tried every restaurant by now with the exception of a few but I am still eating my way through the neighborhood, I think that in about one more month there will be no place left for me to try.

colombian food

Shredded beef patacones

So I heard from locals that La Ventana is the best Colombian restaurant in Miami (and locals who are Colombians by the way so that takes on a whole new level), so I headed to this place. I love the fact that it has a big window, by the way, "La Ventana" means "The Window" in Spanish. I ordered the shreeded beef patacones and an empanada and I was literally speechless. WOW. I asked the owner who was in the restaurant (I like that) what, how come, why... and he explained to me that every recipe here was crafted by her mother-in-law and that they have very strict quality guidelines; from ingredients to ways to prepare the food, he mentioned that they do not use the same pan for cooking different dishes as this will ruin the authentic flavors of the dish, he was so passionately about his restaurant and the food that was just carried away by the amazing stories not only of the food but how he came about his restaurant but things about Colombia and its food that I did not know before.