Mendoza's Colombian Cafe brings authentic Colombian cuisine to Brick

Order an empanada at Mendoza's Colombian Cafe in Brick, and what you see on the plate is a golden turnover stuffed with chicken or beef, with a cup of garlic hot sauce for dipping.

What you won't see is Elkin Mendoza as a young boy in Colombia, waking in the early morning hours to grind corn for his family's empanadas, destined for nearby bodegas.

Decades later, relatives still make them in South America while Elkin, 38, and his wife, Cindy, 33, do the same at their new restaurant more than 2,000 miles away.

Theirs is one of few Colombian restaurants at the Shore, and the journey to opening Mendoza's began with those homemade empanadas. Using Elkin's mother's recipe, the couple sold empanadas from home before hearing of an open storefront in Brick's Riverwalk Shopping Center. They decided to take the advice of customers who said they should open a restaurant.

Theirs is the classic story of "If you build it, they will come." Mendoza's Colombian Cafe, a 30-seat BYOB, opened in May to a line that stretched down the sidewalk, Cindy said. The restaurant regularly sells out of some items: 100 bu?uelos, a fluffy cheese fritter, are gone by 10 a.m. each morning, and several dozen fried papa rellena, made from ground beef wrapped in mashed potatoes, disappear quickly, too ($1.50 and $4).

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Nostalgia plays a part. Mendoza's carries a packaged snack cake called Chocorama, which one diner wanted to have for his dinner because it brought back memories. Another teared up sipping a passionfruit smoothie, remembering the flavor from years ago.

Diners who are new to Colombian cuisine might start with the bandeja de paisa, a platter of steak topped with eggs, fried pork rind called chicharrón, chorizo, rice, red beans, avocado and plantains. Squeeze a lime wedge over the chorizo, then try to get as many flavors as you can into each bite ($22; a smaller platter costs $16).

Early risers should try calentado, a traditional breakfast made from leftovers (at the restaurant, the components are freshly prepared). Mendoza's serves a few varieties, all of which start with rice, beans and egg then include a mozzarella-stuffed corn cake called an arepa, chorizo, chicharrón or grilled steak ($13 to $15).

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Soup is also a staple. "It's a Colombian thing to have soup every day," said Cindy, adding that this is true even when temperatures top 90 degrees. The restaurant serves a different soup each day, from mondongo, a beef tripe soup, to ajiaco, a chicken and potato soup.

As for her favorite item on the menu? The beef empanada, where Mendoza's began.

Go: Open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sundays. 2770 Hooper Ave. in Brick; 732-475-9014, instagram.com/mendozascolombiancafe.

Sarah Griesemer joined the USA TODAY NETWORK New Jersey in 2003 and has been writing all things food since 2014. Send restaurant tips to [email protected], and for more Jersey Shore food news, subscribe to our weekly Jersey Shore Eats newsletter.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Mendoza's Colombian Cafe in Brick: new restaurant at the Jersey Shore