Sabor Y Rumba

Caldo de Bola…
Giant plantain dumpling stuffed with beef, egg, and vegetables in a thick broth with three short ribs chilling in the giant quart size takeout container. The plantain will dissolve slightly and thicken the broth even more. Add a little green sauce and a squeeze of lime. Delivers to Greenpoint in about an hour which is impressive given the distance and the minimal $ 2 surcharge. Whatever remnants were left of my cold have been obliterated. Fantastic. Two meals for $ 11.

Everything I ordered was overcooked, dry, and bland. There was barely any chicken, mostly bones. The bolon de queso didn’t have hardly enough cheese. I was very very disappointed and i Will not order from here ever again.

Ordered here through Grub Hub and was very happy! Fast delivery service, HUGE portions and quality ingredients. Some of the dishes seam to have a little ‘modern twist’ to them, which isn’t bad because I enjoyed everything. Def give them a try.

During my first day of a much-​needed staycation, I ran errands. The moody skies forecasted rain so I made my way briskly through the streets of Bushwick/​Ridgewood. In my hustle to collect all of the cheapest cleaning products, I’d neglected to eat a meal. Last night’s tapas didn’t count. I had planned to go for Polish after I printed and faxed, but as I peeped at the green awning, I saw the metal gates were down. Sad face. Flummoxed I paced the near blocks for a similar solution. I considered Mexican. I wondered if I should just go home and make Annie’s with albacore and sriracha. And then I saw this place: Sabor y Rumba.
The outer décor is a bit garish for my tastes but I understand that sometimes you got to be loud in a neighborhood where there are 293 820 Puerto Rican and Ecuadorian joints. The inside was pleasantly simplistic and the servers were nice. I guess I showed at that off-​peak hour so they seemed a bit surprised when I asked if I could sit, but things were good. I ordered a Modelo ($ 3, to my delight), and giggled when she ID’d me. I’m closer to 30 and starting to relish this rather than be annoyed.
The menu is a bit intimidating, so I’m just gonna tell you how to do this: only think of ingredients you *don’t* like. For me, that’s corn. I just hate bits of corn in my food. So I glanced over the menu and vetoed anything with corn. It’s just easier than asking for a substitution. And trust, there are many items sans corn so that wasn’t an issue.
I’d never noticed before but it seems Ecuadorian is bare on the cheese. That sounds dirty, but my lactose-​sensitive friends would have been pleased with the fare. I’m sure this place isn’t safe for the stern Celiac, but it seems relatively low on the gluten. I could see an issue if you are vegan, and that’s pretty much it. So, if you don’t have an alarming and rare allergy that crops up everywhere, you’re good. Don’t like goat? Prefer grilled meat to breaded meat? No problem.
I had the Montanera. Highly recommend. Jesus. Ok, so there’s a bed of rice and a salad with the most delicious pickled onions and other veggies. Then a plantain, roasted to perfection, perfectly sweet, juicy, and crunchy. An avocado, fresh and sliced. A cut of pork that is basically thick, delicious, and not-​too-​salty bacon. Two over-​easy eggs on a cut of beef that might as well be steak. And next to all this, a savory bowl of beans. Not the refried or black variety that accompany many dishes – these are actually a meal/​dish unto themselves. Oh, and I forgot: a delightfully thick link of chorizo lined the rice. All of this was cooked impeccably well, and $ 15. My meal (which was really three meals) + beer amounted to less than $ 20. They were friendly and sweet, and I think this place is family-​owned.
So call your buddies out to the good neighborhood some weekend or odd afternoon and get to this place. I’m going to try the goat stew and so much more next time.