Have you ever wanted to try South American street food but have been a bit reluctant to travel by plane the +50 hours to get to the heart of South America? Now you don't have to thanks to Arepa, the ultimate restaurant for South American street food.
This cozy little place isn't much to look at on the inside. It keeps things simple and minimalist. Posters stuck up with black tape, neon logo sign, black and white menu board. The dining areas are one large wooden table to share inside and three small tables outside.
The menu is simple. Four different mains to choose from, each a corn dough pouch filled with wholesome and flavourful fillings. There is a vegetarian option, vegan option, chicken option and pork option, with four chooses for extra fillings. Four dollars extra will give you a generous side of fries. Easy, tasty, satisfying.
Each table has its own napkin dispenser and bottle of chilli mayo and garlic aioli. Having the two greatest dipping sauces within arms reach truly defines heaven. We only made one of our corn pockets a combo, as one side of fries was enough for me and the wife. Was there an all out sauce war between the chilli mayo and garlic aioli? You bet.
The chips were cooked right on point. A delightful crunch outside with hot fluffy... cassava! Not potato but cassava, which looks like white sweet potato but tastes and feels just like potato. I honestly thought it was potato chips but no... cassava.
Our corn pockets came out in good time. They might look like something you'd have as a snack but believe me these hand held corn pockets will fill you up. My black beans and feta with guasacaca (mushy avocado) was amazing. The corn pocket held the filling firmly in place. The sharpness of the feta was subdued by the smoothness of the black beens. An absolute perfect balance of flavours.
This place also offers a selection of canned beers and cider. I'm not much of a tinnies fan myself but at the end of the day beer is beer, be it in a bottle or a bucket. Got to try my first watermelon pilsner. It's just what you'd expect, beer with an undercutting watermelon flavour. I had no idea it could be done. Not sure I'd order it again but it was well worth the try.
$42.50 for two corn pockets, one being a combo and two beers. At first I thought it was a bit steep but realised that the beers were $7 each. Would we come back? Try and stop us. read more