In South America, la fonda is a place where everyone comes to eat and buy food—a familial, comfortable space. In Chicago, La Fonda is a restaurant that Beatrice and Herbert Delgado established to create that same feeling. Between exposed brick walls, a colorful bar and hip-swaying tunes, the Colombian nook rests on a solid foundation of family recipes.

The lunch buffet, served Tuesday-Friday from 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m., offers the most enticing option. Fill up endless plates of empanadas, spiced rice, shredded meat, beans and salad for just $7.95. If you prefer your portions controlled, the arepa de choclo con camarones, sweet corn cakes topped with bacon-wrapped shrimp and red pepper aioli, wins the popularity contest.

Main dishes range from $12.95-$14.95, the customer favorite being the plato montanero, a hearty combo of steak, fried pork rind, red beans, white rice, fried egg, sweet plantains and avocado (substitute veggies at no charge). If you prefer meat of the sea, you're in for a treat. Much like Spanish paella, the arroz marinero combines red snapper, shrimp, squid, scallops, clams, green olives, onions, sweet peppers and yellow rice.

Rivaling the dining menu in quantity, there's no turning back from the drink menu's tropical passion, a chilly mix of fresh passion fruit juice blended with Aguardiente Cristal. That is, unless it's to order the Mangorita, fresh mango juice blended with tequila and triple sec, served frozen. Top it all off with flan served with blackberry sauce and you're good to go...to sleep.

Centerstage Reviewer: Emily Fiffer