Discover a variety of Latin@ foods at Mi Bandera.

Mi Bandera is the place to find everything from Goya plantain chips, to Dominican avocados, to frozen yuca, to Salvadorian queso fresco.

Fortunately, Columbus is a place where it isn’t impossible to find markets that cater to Latin@s, including the large supermarket chains that feature sections of Latin@ food products. But if you want to experience what it feels like to walk into a market that has all Latin@s in mind, and if you’re looking for much more product diversity, go to Mi Bandera, where there is something for each taste that Latin@s long for.

One of the first things you notice when you walk into Mi Bandera is the great variety of chips, and not just your usual corn chips, but a wide choice of plantain and yuca chips as well. Yuca (or cassava) is a tuber similar to a potato, which is found in Latin America and particularly in Caribbean countries.

There is a large meat section, which has traditional Latin American meats, such as beef tongue and mondongo — beef tripe that is traditionally used in a soup, which has a very unique taste. In the dairy section, they have many Latin American cheeses, including the Salvadorian queso fresco, which is a soft fresh cheese that it is often homemade.

Their stock of the Puerto Rico-based brand of Goya products is truly impressive. Goya is a staple of Latin@ cooking products here in the United States, and even in South and Central America. They even have the Keebler-brand soda crackers found in many Puerto Rican pantries.

In the frozen foods section, there are frozen plantains, both the ripe, sweet variety and the wonderful tostones (or cara de gatos or patacones, depending on your country of origin). These green plantains are fried, flattened and fried again, making for a great side dish to any meal. They also had frozen arepas, which are made of cornmeal dough and either fried or grilled. And they had the Salvadorian pupusas, which are also made of cornmeal, but the difference is that the dough is mixed with cheese, fried pork rinds (chicharrón), or some other tasty ingredient.

Not all of the services offered by Mi Bandera are found in its food department. They also sell calling cards, offer money transfers, sell movies and music in Spanish, and have a wide variety of Spanish magazines.