Maria's Cafe: South Minneapolis

Mr. C and I were awake one early Wednesday morning, and decided that our hunger took precedence over our laziness. When I asked for ideas of where we should eat breakfast, I got the fastest, most decisive answer from Mr. C I have ever received; Maria's Cafe. I will admit I was skeptical at first, uneasy being out of my comfort zone. But I offered my welcome to his swift decision in the form of restraint, and off we went.

Maria's is a reticent little cafe in South Minneapolis, in the Phillips Neighborhood, and is of Colombian origin. Not as flat as a greasy spoon, not especially resplendent, but welcome and thoughtful. Many people report it being quite full most the time, but Mr. C and I had our choice of seating in the moderate, carpeted dining room. Maria's is most famous for their corn pancakes (Cachapas Venezolanas, which the optional addition of Cotija cheese), which Mr. C ordered 2 of without hesitation. I opted for the breakfast of 2 fried eggs, american fries, and wild rice toast.!

The service was fine, pretty standard for a cafe. The coffee kept coming, and the server was friendly. Our food came out in appropriate time.

Cachapas Venezolanas

At first, I wasn't sure if these would live up to the hype. And then I took a bite. At first I saw a pancake, so I kinda-sorta expected the sweet and starchy pancake flavor. But take away the traditional pancake sweet, add the natural sweetness of corn, combine with savory butter on top, and you have yourself an almost perfect unity of flavors. The total consummation happens with little bits of yellow corn sprinkled throughout. If you wanted to take it over the edge, you can add syrup. In my summation, this simple pancake is almost the perfect food.

Two Eggs, Wild Rice Toast, and American Fries

I can't think of anything else to say about this, besides that it is an absolute breakfast. Little chewy flecks of wild rice add a very nice texture to the toast, the eggs were perfectly cooked, and the american fries were crispy and hot.

Overall, I was very impressed with Maria's Cafe. They offer simple, yet thoughtful food. I am curious to try the South African burger and the plantain pancakes..!