Mr. Valdez Latin Cafe

Visited: 12/​11/​2015
Visited for the first time and really enjoyed it! I think this place is worth trying. The price is reasonable to the portions they serve. I had the Mini Bandeja Paisa and though it was okay. Honestly, it was quite good. I certainly plan on coming back to try more items on their menu. Let’s just say the Mini Bandeja Paisa is a large enough portion that if you aren’t stuffed, I’d be surprised. And of course… I couldn’t finish it all: D

Loveee their food!!! Very friendly staff… ALOT of food for great price! I defiantly recommend and this is now one of my fave spots :-D

While I don’t love getting food to eat in typically (during the UYE that you can read about in reviews from Annie C., Lindy F., and Kristin B., I remember the arepa that came with my Bandeja Paisa being über dry, similar to what Juan Z. mentions), I can’t get enough of picking up stuff from the bakery side, which is directly attached to Mr. Valdez Latin Café.
The funny thing is that the two are actually one and the same, as in, the food comes from the same kitchen, you order and pay at the same register area and you can buy from the bakery then go to the restaurant side or vice versa. If you are going to try out food at Mr. Valdez, I would advise that it is better to go earlier in the day, as I think the food is fresher and you may be lucky enough to avoid some dry items.
The ladies that help there are very nice, with my favorite being Cuban Rachel, who is sweet and remembers me every time I come in.

I’ve been couple times to this place and had their arepas de choclo, almojabanas, and different pastries and they all have been very dry. On the way out I wasn’t sure what was drier if the fried snacks or the attitude of the 2 girls working on the front. There is a place 2 – 3 doors away named «Natarica» that not only has better fried snacks such as empanadas, arepas, etc but also has smiley people who make you feel welcome. Mr. Valdez also serves Colombian dishes but I hadn’t tried any yet. Maybe the owners are spending too much time away from their business and that’s why what I have tried don’t resemble good Colombian treats.

When a sassy Columbian says, «no bueno», I have to believe her.
I was introduced to Señor Valdez by a Columbian coworker of mine who wanted us to try some of what she is used to at home, but she seemed very disappointed in what we wound up with for lunch that day. I thought everything was fine… a little different from what I’m used to eating, but it wasn’t bad, per se.
Four of us got the lunch special which comes with soup (a huge, heaping bowl), a meat (fish, steak or chicken), salad, your choice of two sides (plantains, rice or russian salad), and a cookie! For $ 7, I got two HUGE meals’ worth of food! Another person ordered a platter that had blood sausage, chorizo, potatoes and fired pork skin.
I didn’t hate my giant lunch (I chose the lunch special with steak, plantains, and russian salad with a churro for dessert), but the steak was dry and a little tough, and definitely not worth reheating as leftovers.
The churro was awesome, but took FOREVER for them to give it to me. Honestly, though, I think they just forgot about me until I asked a second time.
The adventurous coworker who ordered the platter was less than impressed– and it certainly wasn’t much to look at.
All in all, a nice experience, but I’m not likely to make a second trip.

Overall, I enjoyed my experience at ‘Mr.Valdez’, it’s quality Latin American cuisine at an affordable price — especially for such large portions. The staff was nice enough, but as both Kristin B and Lindy F noted, they were overwhelmed with the size of our group and at some points seemed a little annoyed by our needs for say silverware and questions about certain dishes. The expedition process could’ve been more organized, there was a lot of confusion about which dishes went to who and what table.
Everything on the menu sounded delicious, it took us a minute to narrow down our choices but we settled on:
–Empanadas
–Arepa Con Queso (large)
–Bandeja Paisa (large)
The empanadas were delicious; served warm, they were crispy on the outside and the meat stuffing was tender and flavorful, and the vinegar dipping sauce (which came with bits of cilantro) was a great compliment. When we ordered the ‘Arepa Con Queso’ — we were asked if we wanted the bigger one which came with beef — we were pretty ravenous– so we said yes to the larger portion, and boy it was a very large portion; it came with a side of pinto beans, a slab of steak, and a large cornmeal cake with cheese. It was a solid dish, but whenever I picture arepas, I think of the «Arepa Mia» arepas (
) and I was disappointed that they weren’t the same concept.
The next entrée we ordered was the ‘Bandeja Paisa’ which I really liked. There was so much on one dish: steak, rice, pinto beans, chicarron, half of an avocado, a fried egg, sweet plantains, a cornmeal cake, and a chorizo link. All of it was delicious — though the cornmeal cake was a bit on the tough side. The steak was the same sort of steak that was served with our ‘Arepa Con Queso’, it was flavorful and tender — and again quite a large piece, the chorizo was one of my favorites — so juicy, the plaintains were another favorite — without a doubt some of the best I’ve had in a while. I was a little apprehensive about trying the chicarron — plainly said, it looked like a giant bone of fat — but I had a few bites, and the more I tried it the more I enjoyed it, it’s sort of reminiscent of beef jerky or if you’re Chinese — rou song.
Suffice to say, we had plenty of leftovers! I would definitely be open to coming back, though in a much smaller group for a better experience.

«Oh yeah, a little carne asada, after we check out the warehouse. Muy bien.» — The Mentalist: Season 3, Episode 16
What a charming little café attached to the La Churreria bakery on the north side of Buford Highway. Our large group of 20+ descended upon them and they seemed a bit overwhelmed, but the food was delicious despite any delays and confusion in the service.
Asking my Latina loving friend what to order, she took me through the menu and recommended a combo plate that gave me a little bit of everything — Bandeja Paisa. This came with Carne Asada, beans in Columbian sauce (not sure what Columbian sauce really is, but it was delicious), rice, a hard fried egg, half an avocado (needed to be ripened), a chicarron (fried pork skin — but like nothing you have ever seen before), Maduros (fried sweet plantains — one of my faves) an arepa and a link of Chorizo. Now this link of chorizo was the best I have ever eaten — not too spicy, but clearly freshly made. Phenomenal! The chicarron was a bit too hard to eat, so I did what I could with part of it (I didn’t want to break my teeth) and sent the rest home with someone. The steak was also super flavorful, and quite juicy considering how thinly it was pounded. I was not disappointed.
While in line ordering, I also ordered the Empandas Columbiana. The menu said 3 to an order, but I was asked how many I wanted when I placed the order. There were 3 of us at our table, so 3 was actually perfect for us. It came with this spicy vinegar sauce with chopped cilantro and green onions — it was so good but a little went a long way. You dipped in the empanada and the crust just soaked it up. It cut into the creaminess of the dough and filling and gave it this extra POP — amazing! We ate them while another of us was in line — so she ordered 6 more. Yes, we ate them ALL.
I also ordered the Arepa de Chocolo. This is a large sweet yellow corn arepa with corn kernals in the arepa, folded over like a taco and stuffed with cheese (don’t ask me what kind of cheese because I don’t know and really don’t care). It was all kinds of yum. Sweet and slightly crispy of the outside, and creamy and gooey on the inside. I wish we had not let it sit quite as long as we had, because it was less gooey than I expect it would have been if we had eaten it fresh off the grill. It was still delicious and I would order it again — I just want it piping hot next time (no more waiting to try it — I claim empanada distraction).
Overall, it was a solid outing and I was quite happy with my choices. Obviously, they are not used to large groups and should have given us individual numbers as we ordered (as we did pay separately). Someone who ordered last and ordered the same thing I did, was served long before I was — part of this was language barrier, part of this was us being spread out at different tables. This would have been fixed if we had numbers — I am sure of it. I would not go back with a group again — it was too disorganized for them.
Give me a few empanadas and we can forget this whole thing ;) Did I mention you should go get some empanadas?

Attached to the La Churreria Bakery, Mr. Valdez is café side of this operation, serving a limited –but still impressive– assortment of Latin American grilled meats, savory pastries, soups, and sides. The prices are very reasonable; you’d be hard pressed to spend more than $ 15 on lunch, and any meal even approaching that price point is enough to feed you for two days. Our large group overwhelmed the servers, but they still did their best to keep us happy.
I kept it simple and stuck with an order of empanadas, an arepe de chocolo, and a side of yucas fritas. The menu listed the empanada as coming three to an order, but when i got to the counter, I learned you can order them individually as well. They are pre-​made and you can see them being kept warm in a heated display case when you order. These were among the best empanadas I’ve had in Atlanta. Super fluffy, crispy on the outside, and appropriately doughy and moist in the middle. The vinegar dipping sauce that came with them didn’t do much for me, but that was okay, because these empanadas were stellar.
The arepa de chocolo was a bit of a disappointment. Arepas de chocolo are not your typical savory arepas. The cakes are sweet and made with lots of whole corn kernels. Usually, they’re filled with a sweet, white cheese as well. This version was folded over itself and filled with a cheesey, white sauce that was more gummy than cheesey. They looked so tempting sitting in the heated display, but this is really a dish that needs to be made and served immediately.
The yuca fries took a while to make it to my table, but once they made it, they were a solid rendition. I had leftover vinegar sauce from my empanadas, and I used it to dip the yuca fries into, which made them even better. I definitely recommend asking for extra for this purpose.
Overall, I think I’d stick to Natarica (right in the same strip mall) for most of my South American dining needs, with the huge exception being the empanadas, for which I will definitely return.