Columba’s Food Truck has a pretty clever name, right? Say it out loud, and it’s a ringer for “Columbus Food Truck.” This auditory issue caused a little confusion at first, because there are lots of Columbus food trucks in the local dining scene. That said, we’re good now: belongs-to-Columba, got it.
In addition to a host of tacos and nachos that might be otherwise anticipated from a south-of-the-border food purveyor, Columba’s also makes tamales in a breathtaking array of flavors: we’re talking fillings that include pork, chicken, sweet potato, sweet corn — the list goes on. It offers up a veritable adventure land of treasures, each wrapped in a silky corn masa sweater, then swaddled in plantain leaves.
The plantain leaves might come as a little surprise, they’re a dark olive green and a little thinner and more refined than familiar corn husks. The plantain leaves are sturdy and supple enough, though, to hold a bundle of all that tamale goodness together. A vegetable version was the house favorite. It’s populated with soft chunks of roasted poblanos, tomatoes, onions and chickpeas (some spinach was mentioned in the description but it was MIA, NBD). The vegetable tamale is truly satisfying in itself, but you can score some glossy green add-on sauce with a strong cilantro flavor; it adds a little bonus entertainment, for those who need it.
Venturing beyond the plant-based department (and that aforementioned vegetable tamale is both vegan-friendly and gluten-free, for those with restrictions), you can also score a Rajas tamale, filled with oozing mozzarella and jalapeno, or perhaps the Pork version, with soft meat in a zippy red guajillo sauce. Heck, variety is overrated, do a tamale for dessert too: the sweet potato version is sugared with cinnamon and raisins.
Columba’s empire includes food truck appearances, catering, and it can be found at farmers markets this season. You can follow its social media at instagramwebs.com/user/columbafoodtruck.