Caracas Arepas Bar

Holy shit licks, yo yos rocks my world! If there's anything you must try in NY, try these bomb ass arepas and fried doughs of heaven. Seriously, I have no idea where you can find these anywhere else and if you know where, you besta tell me.


Their yo yos are Ah-mazing! Imagine fried dough stuffed with thin slices of plantains and chewy Mexican cheese with a side of molasses syrup (at least that's what I think it is) for like $5 bucks. Don't think twice,
just freakin get it!


Lovely Su and I started with the Ensalada Fresca ($8.75) - watercress, cherry tomatoes and avocado salad with more fried up plaintain or yucca chips, covered with cotija cheese and a tangy passion fruit vinaigrette. Yuuuum

And then our arepas came...arepas are really just dough made of mesa flour, that's it...simple, right? Think of an English muffin, but 100x better - crispy on the outside and oh-so fluffy in the inside, THEN stuffed with crap loads of awesomeness.

My favorite (like everyone and their mama's favorite) is numero 8 - De Pabellón ($7.25) with juicy stewed shredded beef, black beans, sliced plaintains and crumbled white cheese.


You gotta love the salty sweet combo messin with your taste buds. This is probably the most expensive one on the list, the others ranges from $6-7 dollas makes you hollas. These arepas aren't big, imagine your fist, no wait, imagine my fist...and that would be the size. So if you're a big fat cow, then order 5 of them, but I'm sure you'll find something you'd like from their list of 20 to choose from.


And as you all know, I can never end a meal without something sweet...the Marquesa de Chocolate $5.25 was literally so sweet and thick it made my brain hurt. Layers of THICK chocolate mousse and Maria cookies (you know, those ghetto fabulous butter cookies with "maria" engraved in the center that you can get for $0.99 in chinatown). When we stuck our spoon it it, that shit stood up. I give them mad props for making this, but maybe next time I'll stick to the traditional flan.


OH and don't forget to get some booze with your meal, you need the carbonation to wash it down, plus they have a pretty good selection of Mexi beers. If you're not a beer drinker, get one of their creative milkshakes like banana cinnamon or venezulean chocolate. 

Ambiance is cozy, dark and pretty cramped and noisy with small tables. (Probably no more than 10 two tops tables in there). Do NOT go with a large group, which means 4+ more people. You'll never get a table.

FYI - They have a take-out joint next door if you don't want to wait the 1hr + for din, or definitely try to go during lunch when they have their lunch specials - any arepa + soup or salad for like $7 or 8 bucks. Score!


Caracas Arepas Bar
Neighborhood: East Village
93 1/2 E 7th St

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Cantina Latina

Oh my love for mexican....maybe they put crack in their corn tortillas, but whatever it is...it's addictive.


Cantina Latina had both its hits and misses, the tacos sounded interesting, but it really just tasted liked globs of goo. These Al Pastor (pork in adobe sauce and grilled pineapple) and Chicken Mole (with some crazy chocolate spice with raisins) tacos tastes exactly like how they look: a pile of messed up spices skewered together. Might I add, they were TINY. Don't let the pictures fool you, each taco were bite size and for $12 for 3 mini mushy tacos, you're much better off ordering a torta or plato.

The grilled corn, on the other hand, was the best shit on the table. So good, we ordered 2. But maybe because that shit was tiny too ($4 bucks a pop). Covered in mexican cheese and chili powder, you can even taste the lime.

Latina Salad ($7) - very refreshing dish with avocado, corn, queso, and tortilla strips. For the price and portion, this was probably the best bang for the buck
Cubano ($9) - perfectly balanced with pulled pork, ham, and cheese. Supposedly had some puree of raisins and olives, but the saltiness totally overwhelmed the spread cuz I didn't taste no raisin nothin. Damn, how I heart pulled pork!

FYI - did you know mexis have their OWN mayonnaise?? it's like regular mayo with lime added, effin geniuses man! and in a squirt bottle. but you can really only find these in mexi markets, well worth the trip.


DIY - grilled corn mexi style is super easy and oh so delicious. Grill corn, squirt a crap load of mexi mayo, sprinkle with cotija cheese (NO OTHER CHEESE BUT COTIJA, this cheese is perfect for crumbling and stays in place yet melts to a perfectly ooey soft consistency, and dash on some paprika or chili powder and you're good to go.


And of course, we got dessert. This was one tasty chocolate mousse, holds up all the way through and not cloyingly sweet.

Ambiance: cool vibe, not too dark, string of festive lights and good service. All in all, I would go back if I'm in the hood craving corn or a cubano, but definitely not anything else.

Cantina Latina
Neighborhood: Gramercy
243 E 14th St x 2nd Ave 

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