The all-day breakfast arepa at Mr. Colombino would heal me

I am not a breakfast person. I was doing intermittent fasting before it was a thing, and I will often not eat a single calorie until about 11 a.m. or noon. Even then, anything even slightly greasy or fatty, like an eggy sandwich or a donut, will send my insides spiraling, ruining what could have been an otherwise productive day. 

I considered this when my husband and I made an impromptu 10 a.m. visit to the Mr. Colombino food truck in Lawrenceville. Located in a former Circle K parking lot at the intersection of Butler and 39th streets, the food truck serves arepas, empanadas, and Colombian coffee drinks in a drive-thru set-up outfitted with covered picnic tables. A speaker blasted Euro club music as we scanned the menu, which also features chocolate specialty drinks, tea, and smoothies.

The location comes from Colombino Coffee, a Pittsburgh-based business specializing in direct-trade beans grown by Colombian farmers. Colombino also runs brick-and-mortar coffee shops in Bethel Park and on the North Side.

We ordered coffees and egg-and-cheese breakfast arepas, served in corn tortilla pockets. Touted on Mr. Colombino’s signage as an all-day breakfast selection, the dish came piping hot and looking like an overstuffed lacto-ovo clamshell, bursting with seasoned scrambled-style egg. The handheld came with a side of green chimi sauce that, as the proprietor informed us, was made in-house.

The arepa alone satisfied, the savory egg matching well with the slightly sweet, perfectly crisped corn tortilla. The spicy, oily sauce, with its flakes of herbs and peppers, brought it to another level, making it an integral part of the experience — I could have easily eaten a full cup of the stuff.

In any other case, the combination of fat, oil, and spice would have wreaked havoc on my empty morning stomach. Thankfully, I left with a half-drunk iced latte in my hand, feeling pleasantly full and ready to take on a rare sunny Pittsburgh day.

I look forward to returning to this lovely gem of a food truck, if only to try the signature plantain-filled arepa and Farmers Latte made with Colombian coffee, raw honey cane sugar, spices, and choice of milk.