Mami Coll’s

I suspect there has been some sort of a bait and switch. Sounds like this cart used to be located elsewhere. And it used to have edible food. Ah, the good olé days of 2011.
I attempted to eat here the other day in the A La Carts pod. I ordered the pork and chicken skewers (multiple) over rice. The photo on the side of the cart looked appetizing enough.
When was the last time you ordered an item based on the menu photo and it arrived as photographed? Yeah. Me neither. What was I thinking? I received a small skewer (singular) of meat over a small plate of rice. The meat was so tiny, and so dried out, I’m still not sure if it was chicken or pork. I only ate one bite before deciding it was one of life’s mysteries that will go unsolved. A couple bites of rice were all I could choke down. This was not good food. Not at all.

The arepas at Mami Coll’s are the best that I have had since I spent time in Colombia, and the owner of Mami Coll’s served them with a great deal of charm! I love that they are baked, and after trying a number of combinations, I would highly recommend the beef, certainly a classic cheese arepa, but my favorite overall was plantain with queso fresco — fantastic! I’m going back soon for corn empanadas, and have been assured that I can stop by any time for a bag of basic arepas to experiment with on my own… LOVE IT!

On this particular day, the gentleman at Mami Coll’s was selling empanadas ($ 2.25 each) filled with beef and Italian sausage. Lordy, lordy these were fine! Loved the flavor combination. Excellent fluffy shell on the empanada too. I gathered that they change the filling on a daily basis.
This is called a lucky find, because I wouldn’t have stopped at Mami Coll’s if Over The Top at the nearby Food Pavilion pod on Ivon/​50^th was closed yet again during their posted business hours (what is it, about five times in a row now, that we have stopped by to find it closed?).
In addition, I ordered «The Platter» ($ 6.50). It came with shredded beef with finely chopped onion and green pepper. The Platter also came with red beans topped with a crumbled queso fresco, rice, two arepas and a slice of fried plantain. The beef (though skimpy in portion) was delicious. I also liked that the plantain was not oily or greasy, just the true goodness of the fruit. So on the healthy meter, this dish scores high.
I also picked up the coconut rice dessert. This menu item needs some work. The gentleman was very apologetic that it was still frozen and needed to sit out for a while to thaw. That was fine because I was just going to save it for a mid-​afternoon snack. However, even then, I found the dessert (topped with a modest dash of cinnamon) extremely dry. I was able to help it out at home by pouring some milk on it. Still, this dish needs to be creamier.

A new food cart is now neighbors with Leroy’s & Kim Jung Grillin’! Tough competition, for sure, but with a nice Latin menu of arepas, empanadas, beans & rice bowl, fried plantains, & arroz con coco dessert, it adds some nice variety to this quaint SE cartpod!
I tried a very tasty and seemingly healthy beans & rice bowl (with shredded beef & feta cheese for ~$ 3.50). I hope the baked arepas compare to Fuego De Lotus’s fried version, but I’ll have to wait until my next visit to make tge comparison.
So far, I think it’s worth checking out!