Villacolombia

Guava and cheese go great together in pastries throughout Latin America, but only at a Colombian bakery will you find this combo in an empanada de cambray. "Cambray" — it may be a proper name, but its origin is unknown to me — seems to be associated with Valle del Cauca, the department on Colombia's Pacific coast whose largest city is Cali.

The shell of this baked empanada ($1.50) was unusually thick. I suspect that the dough, and not just the filling, incorporated some sort of cheese, and possibly yuca flour as well.

Villacolombia
40-42 82nd St. (Roosevelt-41st Aves.), Elmhurst, Queens
718-476-3500

Comments

[Dave Cook]

While writing my post, I'd read about the commune of Cambrai, in northern France, namesake of a fine woven cloth called cambric. I thought no more of it until an EIT reader, by email, noted a possible if tenuous connection:

There are also tamales de cambray in coastal Oaxaca and (I've heard) in Nicaragua. "Cambray" means cambric cloth, and I've seen a claim that the Oaxacan tamales were originally wrapped in fine cambric instead of plantain leaves. Never felt completely convinced of that. I wonder whether the name may indicate (or once have indicated) something fine-textured and more or less white and having associations with delicacy and luxury.

Thanks, Anne!

[LanaJoseph @ Cloud Encryption]

Some what similar to danish and the combo should be great I guess, because when you mix cheese with anything it brings out the actual flavor.