J Balvin crowns Queens as world’s best Colombian food

Reggaeton superstar J Balvin visited Queens to sample the Colombian food. The verdict? It may be better than the food actually in Colombia.  Photo via Wikimedia commons

By Rachel Vick

Hot take: Queens has better Colombian food than Colombia.

At least that’s according to reggaeton superstar and Medellin native J Balvin, who described the Queens cuisine while sampling hot sauces on the hit YouTube show “Hot Ones.”

After a bite of chicken wing with “Da Bomb” hot sauce, rated 135,600 on the Scoville Scale spice index, Balvin faced a tough question from host Sean Evans: Who has the best Colombian food, New York, Miami or Los Angeles?

Balvin needed a minute to answer.

“I can’t talk bro,” he said, taking a breather.  

“New York might have the best Colombian food besides Colombia,” he conceded through the hot sauce haze.

He went on to credit Colombians who moved to New York City to escape conflict in the 20th Century for the authenticity of the local flavor.

“A lot of Colombians escaped from Colombia to New York,” he said. “When you walk in Queens you find places that taste even better and more Colombian than in Colombia.”