La Carreta Hispanic Grocery and Taqueria - Marietta, GA

 

A few weekends ago the Dining Companion and I had lunch at La Carreta.

I loved these lights

 

The dining space is nice. It has a rustic feel. 

I liked the distressed wood on the tables

 La Carreta lists itself as Latin American. The menu features Mexican and Colombian food. Several different things are represented on the menu. Some familiar, some not. There are the usual tacos and burritos. Then there are also three different styles of tamales available and tortas too. We decided to start with the Guacamole Fresco. It was fresh just as the name states and very tasty.

Guacamole Fresco - Guacamole made to order served with chips & salsa

 

Being as how this is primarily a Mexican restaurant you may be surprised by the fact that chips and salsa are not free. I don't think that's a huge deal, at all. But if it's what you're looking for in your Mexican dining experience be forewarned.

After looking over all the delicious sounding options I decided on the tacos al pastor.

Pastor - Pork seasoned with adobo sauce & pineapple

Wow is all I can say. Everything on the plate was delicious. Including that unassuming scoop of white rice. The pork was tender with great flavor of adobo and pineapple. There are a lot of great sounding tacos on the menu but I would be hard pressed to select something different.

The Dining Companion ordered one of the Colombian options on offer. This was a dish similar to one we had at Sacha's Cafe in Greenville, SC.

Bandeja Paisa

The most Colombian traditional meal, delicious home made rice, beans, Colombian chorizo, pork belly, steak, fried egg, avocado & arepa

There was a lot going on and all of it was good. I was lucky enough to taste some of the chicharron and beans. Both were great as were the plantains. The fried egg, which may seem unusual, is typical for this type of cuisine. I wonder if i could get a stack of arepas with cheese and a bowl of beans? I might just have to ask next time we visit.

If you're in the mood for something a little different than your typical Mexican restaurant give La Carreta a try. The food is great and the variety just can't be beat.

Happy dining!

Note: Sacha's Cafe, Greenville, SC

Sacha's Cafe - Greenville, SC

The Dining Companion and I were looking for something different for lunch the other day. We looked around a bit and settled on Sacha's Cafe, a local Colombian place. We've both had Colombian food before and really enjoyed it.

Sacha's has the feel of a local's neighborhood place. 

 We settled in and looked over the menu.

I think that translate roughly to Your Meeting Place

We decided on a stuffed arepa (Arepa Rellenas). We got the one stuffed with steak tips, onions, green peppers, cheese and jalapenos. While not the prettiest sandwich in the world it is packed with flavor. Delicious ingredients melded together with warm melt-y cheese, perfection.

Arepa Rellenas Asada - The picture does it no justice

Next we decided on the Paisa Bowl and something called a Picada. The Paisa Bowl is just that, a bowl full of tasty things. The one we ordered featured rice and beans, steak, chicharones, an egg, sweet plantains, avocado and a fried arepa.

While it looks a bit of a mis-mash all of it was wonderful. The rich egg and avocado, the savory steak and crisp bacon, so good. Not the lightest lunch fare by far so a siesta may be in order.

And there's still more. Last but not least is the Picada. Picada means chopped in Spanish and is another mixed grill plate. The one we ordered had some of the same things on it that were in the Paisa Bowl. Along with the steak and bacon there was also yuca fries, pork sausage, pork tips, potatoes, limes, tomatoes and some patacones (which I know as tostones, fried green plantains). All of it was great.

I didn't get a picture of it but there are three sauces on the table. A mild pink sauce reminiscent of a remoulade sauce, a white garlic sauce and a nicely spiced green jalapeno based sauce. The green sauce was my favorite and was the perfect foil for all of the richness of the food.

While not just a very filling lunch, dining at Sacha's reminded me that A I really like South American and also Caribbean influenced food and B how many different places there are to try if you just take a look around.

If you haven't yet tried Colombian food definitely look for it in your area. It may turn out to be a new favorite.

Happy dining!