Jaymar Colombian Breeze
348 Main St.
Gaithersburg, MD 20878
301-869-0023
Neighborhood: Gaithersburg
Cuisines: South American
Opening Hours:
Open Tuesday through Thursday 11 to 8; Friday and Saturday 11 to 9; Sunday 11 to 7.
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Price Range: Inexpensive
Dress: Informal
Noise Level: Chatty
Reservations: Not Needed
Best Dishes:
Beef empanadas; arepas with beef, cheese, fried eggs, or red beans and rice; bandeja tipica (a plate of rice, red beans, fried egg, plantains, minced beef, and sausages); bandeja paisa (chorizo, skirt steak, cracklings, beans and rice, and plantains); Col
Special Features: Wheelchair Accessible, Kid Friendly
This Colombian kitchen serves heaping dishes of potatoes, cheese, and beef--the type of food that grandmothers cook to put meat on your bones. In fact, the mom-and-pop restaurant--the only Colombian spot in Washington and a nice surprise among its chain-restaurant neighbors--relies on the owners' family recipes.
The arepa--a cheese-filled silver-dollar-size corn cake--is to Colombian cooking what white rice is to a Chinese restaurant: One comes with nearly everything on the menu. On a big platter such as the bandeja paisa--piled with sausage, chicharrón, carne asada, plantains, a fried egg, and beans--it's a good sponge for mopping up. With buttery scrambled eggs in the all-day breakfast dishes, arepas make for a tasty South American-style twist on a morning sandwich.
Also good: Empanadas filled with potatoes and beef; tamales stuffed with chicken, pork, and beef; ajiaco, a chicken stew.
Open Tuesday through Sunday for lunch and dinner.