The Humble Gourmand

In New York, Latino restaurants saturate the five boroughs. With a Latino population at about 28% of the city’s more than 8 million residents, it’s expected that New Yorkers can get their fill of Latin-loving flavors. From tiny take-out taco shops to monstrosities with 50-foot ceilings and $30 entrées, this city has you covered in Latin fare.

After trying a good number of those places in my 2.5-year stay (it would take years more to get through all them, and I stuck mostly with Manhattan), there was just one that I wouldn’t miss on a visit back: Caracas Arepa Bar in the East Village.

Forget burritos. Clear your head of enchiladas and tacos. Don’t you dare even consider fajitas.

Rid your consciousness of all prior thoughts of Latino cuisine and prepare for the wonderful spin on Venezuelan cuisine served at Caracas, whose namesake happens to be the capital of Venezuela.

Made of corn flour, Caracas’ arepas (ah-ray-pahz) are flat and crispy on the outside, and dense but soft on the inside. They are stuffed with beef, chicken, or fish, with plenty of plantains, avocados, and black beans for good measure. True to Venezuelan cuisine, there are choices that can range from the simple — a white cheese-filled arepa or empanada — to the saucy — La Sureña, which is overflowing with grilled chicken and chorizo, avocado slices, and the classic oregano-based sauce, chimichurri. This reviewer has probably tried it about 15 times (and counting).

De Pabillon, filled with shredded beef, black beans, sweet plantains and aged white farmer’s cheese, will surely satisfy, but you should also try La de Pernil, stuffed tightly with roasted pork shoulder, tomato slices, and a spicy mango sauce.

There are plenty of options for vegetarians, such as La Mulata, filled with grilled white cheese with jalapeños, sautéed red peppers, fried sweet plantains, and black beans. If one of the carnivorous items calls your vegetarian name, ask to sub the meat for baked tofu — your server will certainly oblige.

On to Caracas’ empanadas, which are deep-fried yet not greasy. The fully stuffed corn-flour patties are so crisp, and feature most of the same ingredients as the arepas. Try the Cazón, a common small-size shark from the Caribbean Sea, the Yoyos, deep-fried balls of sweet plantain stuffed with white cheese, or the Taquenos, deep-fried white cheese sticks wrapped in wheat flour dough. While the guacamole is quite nice, I’d refrain from ordering it to save room for the other wonderful appetizers.

Don’t miss Caracas’ special sauce — spicy, but not too much heat; just enough kick to require a refreshing Pacifico or other Latin beer to tame the fire. It’s garlicky, and a bit sweet, too, with a creamy consistency. I encourage you to dip everything in it. Youll understood after the first taste. Words cannot do it justice.

When going for dessert, nothing cools the heat of the arepas like the Cocada, a coconut milkshake with shredded coconut and a touch of cinnamon on top, or the Chicha, a sweet and thick drink made out of rice topped with cinnamon. A traditional Venezuelan flan, Quesillo, is thick and caramelized.

And the price tag for a meal that leaves diners feeling full and sweetly lethargic? About $25.

Caracas’ food is truly unique, and it’s almost impossible to order poorly. However, you will be faced with super-tight quarters, which is of course, a ubiquitous facet of East Village restaurants. And the no-reservations policy for this tiny dining Mecca is once again, true East Village style, which translates into long waits (there are maybe 15 tables in the place). Service is speedy but a little haphazard. But when you try these killer, incredibly fresh arepas, all the negatives are well worth it.

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