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| - There is something that is so effortlessly cool about this place that you can't help but just want to hang out here all the time. The space is very bright, clean and modern and on a warm summery night (or day for that matter) they open up the giant window at the front so that a cool city breeze comes in an mingles with the stylish young patrons as they enjoy the evening and eat their Venezuelan corn pockets.
But this place is more than just style, the food is also really great, and after trying my first arepa earlier this year in NYC, the arepa Cafe has become a once a month staple for me.
I have now had the flank steak, marinated octopus and adobo pork arepas and they were all great. The corn pockets they are served in are freshly made an nicely crispy on the outside and fillings on the inside are uniformly tasty and well prepared.
If I had to pick a favourite I would go with the octopus as a) it's a nice change of pace from the typical meat based sandwich and b) and because this particularly tender mollusc was marinated in just the right amount of citrusy deliciousness.
Other useful things to know about this place:
1) My gluten-free friend is able to eat here which is a huge plus.
2) For best results, the garlicky white sauce should be squeezed generously onto your arepa throughout your meal
3) The vibrantly orange habanero based hot sauce is actually f'ing hot - but if you like spice you will have a hard time not dabbing (seriously dabbing is all you need) drop after drop of nose running, sweat inducing zing onto every bite
4) It is not possible to eat this without getting at least some of it on you
5) Don't forget to jam some of the coleslaw they give you into the arepa as well
6) The portion sizes aren't huge (but not necessarily small either), which on the bright side means that you should definitely make room for dessert. They have a fried plantaine, cheese and honey dish that is hits all the right notes while being deceptively simple which I highly recommend.
In terms of price, the last time we went (and dined in) my wife and I each had an arepa and a bottle of Mill St. Organic and we ended up paying about $32 all-in, so you're getting reasonably good value.
What more can I say, go check this place out.
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