(This venue is closed.) The twin finials at the roofline are painted yellow, blue, and red, a color combo shared with the hanging sign, the fascia, and the awning (provided that we count the backdrop to the picture menu). Draped alongside the U.S. red, white, and blue, the national tricolor delivers the message with finality: The owners hail from Colombia. Paisa denotes a region of the country's northwest, home to mountainous territory where, perhaps only on special occasions, cooking is still done around la hoguera — the bonfire.
Any open flames inside La Hoguera Paisa were too small to distract me from the baked goods on display up front. Among them: a particularly rich and supple pandebono ($1.25), one of many ways that the world combines bread and cheese. To identify a Colombian restaurant, there's no surer sign.
La Hoguera Paisa
40-12 Queens Blvd. (40th-41st Sts.), Sunnyside, Queens
718-392-9903
www.LaHogueraPaisa.com
