La Fonda

The other day Dianny and I were walking down Rue Caulaincourt, from Place de Clichy towards the Montmartre neighborhood, and saw a big Colombian flag painted on a storefront. The sign read "La Fonda," which stands for a small store that usually sells groceries, similar to the Old West general stores in the U.S., but not as big (nothing is ever as big as in the U.S.), and that also functions as a small restaurant.

The store seems to be owned by a friendly Colombian whose name sounds like Duván, who saw us shyly peeking in and invited us inside. When we walked in, we were transported back in space and time to the typical small stores you find in Colombian villages and even some neighborhoods in bigger cities. Not something you expect to find in the middle of the City of Light.

It's packed to the rafters with foodstuffs and other items, and you're always wondering when things are going to start falling off the shelves, which don't appear to be very stable.

We ended up staying for lunch, and had empanadas de carne, Manzana Postobón, and buñuelos. A couple of regulars were enjoying sancocho, a traditional soup that's also considered a stew. Now we know where to get arequipe, a kind of dulce de leche from Colombia, which Dianny uses to make the best crêpes au arequipe!