I work in Columbia, South Carolina almost every week, and even though I’ve been doing this for roughly three years now, I actually eat at the same 3-4 places all the time. It’s kind of surprising even to me, considering how much I love food and variety, but it’s because of how busy my schedule is when I’m on the road and the proximity of certain restaurants to our office and my hotel. Every so often though I feel like some variety, so being that I love Yelp so much these days, I headed there for some insight, and definitely found a winner when I tried out the Blue Cactus Cafe.
Blue Cactus Cafe is an interesting mix of Korean and Southwestern food, located in the eclectic 5 Points area of Columbia. They are strong believers in the slow food movement emphasizing quality and freshness.
If you live in Columbia and like something different check this place out! The quality is fantastic, especially for the price, and it is something you aren’t going to see every day in Columbia. Photos ensuing!
On my first visit I started off with the Korean dumplings. They were good though not the most memorable part of the meal. No complaints and a good start. They did arrive surprisingly quick considering this place unabashedly prepares their food slowly.
A very unassuming spot, oh, and they serve ice cream!
The kimchi – I’m no expert on this, but it was yummy to me.
Above is what I ordered on my first visit, the Bee Bim Bop, one of their most popular dishes. It’s a bowl of rice topped with your choice of meat (pork in this case), vegetables (sprouts, cucumbers, etc), and a fried egg. It was a ton of food, with fantastic fresh flavor, all for $6.50.
Below it’s all mixed up, with some of the spicy chili sauce.
One my next visit I got the Spicy Pork with extra vegetables. While I enjoyed the diversity of the Bee Bim Bop better, this was very good. There was tons of spicy pork, carrots, and zucchini. There was more than I could eat but I almost knocked this whole thing out.
Just looking at this I’m salivating… I can’t wait until my next visit! Hit me up if you’re in Columbia and wanna go some time.
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