There was a time, when we were first living in New York, that we would duck into this itsy-bitsy, super colorful restaurant in the East Village–Caracas–at least once a week. We were obsessed and brought nearly every visitor who came to town with us to try it. We recently stopped in, after nearly a year away.
Venezuelan arepas are probably best described as little cornmeal sandwiches. Aron and I both always order a La Del Gato (queso Guyanes, avocado, and plantains), and he adds pernil (a spicy pulled-pork)–it’s delicious. The cheese is so incredible–I once posted a query to Chowhound to see if I could figure out a source for it, and asked around at quite a few nearby cheese stores and Latin markets. Finally I asked at Caracas and they sold me a small box of the mozzarella-like, creamy white cheese on the spot!
For some reason, we just up and stopped going (the crowds are a bit of a deterrant). But it was as tasty (and cute) a spot as ever when we dropped by for lunch.
15 Comments