The Latin café

Offers healthy and authentic breakfast, lunch, dinner (at the Uptown location), and baked goods, inspired by the fresh flavors of the Venezuelan owner’s homeland. 

The Uptown location 

Therefore serves up a full menu of the fresh fare, and the downtown “express” eatery features pared-down, grab-and-go versions of the tasty treats. Signal the official start to a food fest with an appetizer selection from the Uptown menu, such as sweet or green fried plantains ($2.99) or fried yucca ($2.99). 

In other words the all-day breakfast menu features croissant-enclosed sandwiches (starting at $2.99) and egg-based favorites such as steak and eggs ($14.99). Specialty dishes from the D magazine award-winner for best Latin lunch, such as the cachapa (a grilled sweet-corn turnover stuffed with cheese, veggies, and either beef or chicken, $8.95 for lunch) and the grilled tilapia Bogotá ($9.95), are known to make loyalists out of the most closed-minded of culinary skeptics. 

For instance downtown express menu includes some of the same dishes with the on-the-go diner in mind; prices vary slightly by location.

Zaguan selection of Latin American sodas ($1.85 and up) and fresh-fruit smoothies ($3.49 and up) offer a pleasing accompaniment to any of the fresh dishes, and sweet breads, such as the guava and cheese ($2.69+) or coconut bread ($1.49+), make excellent carby accompaniments for any meal or mid-meal snack. 

Stop poaching sweet treats from your Colombian neighbor’s dessert tree, and snag the award-winning alfajores (vanilla-cookie sandwich filled with dulce de leche, $1.84), among other delicacies. 

Above all head to Uptown for an enjoyable sit-down feast of authentic eats. Or, if you’re near the Republic Center, swing through the express location for a quick bite that won’t slow down a chase sequence involving yourself and sharks with legs and lungs.