Arepas in Rhode Island

I am an arepa junkie - mostly of the Venezuelan variety - ever since a few late nights in Caracas at a huge open-air restaurant counter, wolfing them down with buddies over a few cold beers, as the cooks slung out hundreds of arepas all around us.

For the uninitiated, an arepa is a small, circular corn cake, crisped up on the outside on a hot griddle, and then sliced open and stuffed with any number of fillings - stewed beef, pulled pork, shredded chicken, beans, eggs, even shrimp - along with other options like fresh cheese, avocado slices, and more.

In my opinion, they can go toe-to-toe with tacos al pastor for the title of best 2am food. Arepas can be held in your hand and eaten standing up, the crackling edge of the arepa contrasts brilliantly with the tender meat stuffed inside, and best of all they are cheap and they fill you right up.

So I was thrilled to find Antojos Venezolanos - a blue truck with the Venezuelan flag painted on it - parked on Broad St. in Providence, right near the corner with Gallatin. (If you come off 95 at the Thurbers Ave. exit, follow it until you hit Broad St. at the corner with CVS, and bang a left). They are there from about 5pm every day until late night.

And the arepas are GOOD!

So far, I have had the arepas filled with Carne Esmechada (stewed shredded beef) and the Pollo Esmechado (stewed shredded chicken), topped with fresh cheese. The meats are moist, and some of the sauce that they were braised in comes along for the ride.

A few downsides: they always seem to be out of Pernil (pulled pork shoulder) and Chicharron (crispy pork skin) fillings when I get there - and I've gone a few times, so I'm beginning to get suspicious! They also take a little while to make the food, which seems strange for a food truck, but it is well worth the wait - trust me.

Many other people in line at the truck are ordering Patacones - which are basically huge tortillas made out of plantains, and they fill these with a variety of meats and sauces as well. I will have to try on another visit and report back.

Does anyone know of any other good arepa spots in the area?

I've heard of La Arepa restaurant in Pawtucket, but I have never been. (A Venezuelan friend once remarked that the truck on Broad St. was actually better, but I don't know for sure.)

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La Arepa
574 Smithfield Ave, Pawtucket, RI 02860

Antojos Venezolanos
1003 Broad St, Providence, RI 02907

chasbwalker in Southern New England

Mosaic - Latin American Bistro [Providence, RI]

Chimichurri lovers of the world, unite! Mosaic is putting up some delicious food inspired by the varied cuisines of Latin America and the Caribbean, and is a welcome addition to the Providence scene.

Unfortunately, the Wild Boar Ribs (!!!) with a black bean pupusa were 86'd by the time we got there last night, but we still had a great meal which included:

Matambre - a marinated flank steak, rolled and stuffed with spinach, red peppers, and a hard-boiled egg, drizzled with fragrant chimichurri and balsamic vinegar. Mmm. I want to go to Argentina.

Pernil - slow-cooked smoked pork shoulder, torn and served on slider buns with a pickles, ham, melted gruyere cheese and mustard, Cuban-sandwich style. I ordered the mango and jicama slaw with this, and it was tangy and crunchy.

Chivito - a sandwich of Uruguayan origin, marinated flank steak with a fried egg, lettuce, tomato, and pickled red onions, and smoked bacon. My wife had the house-made potato chips, which were paper thin and piping hot - perhaps a little too oily.

They even comped us a taste of their Ajiaco soup, a creamy Colombian chicken soup with potatoes, avacado, roasted corn, and a little zing from a cilantro relish. Hearty and quite good.

The owners, who are the head chef and the FOH manager, are related (brothers?) and both came over and greeted us - very friendly, and looking for feedback. We like things spicy, so they said next time just order it with some extra kick and the kitchen will comply!

They are Colombian, so I asked about arrepas - I guess I missed it on the menu, but there is a shrimp dish served with arrepas. And the chef said he does his eggs benedict over arrepas on the days that they do brunch (Saturday and Sunday).

While we stuck with an appetizer and sandwiches, their menu includes a few entrees, and the owners said they would be continuing to expand the number and variety of entrees over the coming months.

We will DEFINITELY be back. Their facebook page shows photos of their opening - they served lechon (a roast suckling pig) - so sorry we missed it!

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Providence-RI/Mosaic-Latin-American-Bistro/109698115749114?ref=ts

They are closed on Tuesdays. All other days, I believe they are open 11:30am to 1am.

Last note: for a small spot with only a couple of tap handles, I was happy to see some craft beers (Hennepin being one) and bottles on their drink menu. Though next time we go, we'll probably get into some Argentinian/Uruguayan wine, if I recall they had both Tannat and Malbec varieties on the list.

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Mosaic - Latin American Bistro
166 Valley St, Providence, RI 02909

chasbwalker in Southern New England

Need Nob Hill (or vicinity) suggestions for private reception...

So we are coming to San Francisco in late April to celebrate a baptism at Grace Cathedral (corner of California St. & Taylor St.) in Nob Hill.

We are looking for suggestions on a nice (but not ridiculously expensive) place in that area that we can host an early afternoon reception with hors d'oeuvres and drinks for around 25 people. Probably a stand-up rather than sit-down affair.

Ideally it would be within walking distance of the baptism so our guests won't have to struggle with parking twice, but if the right place presents itself and requires a short drive, we're open to suggestions.

Another plus would be a good beer list (i.e. Belgians, Germans, US craft, etc.)

And if the weather permits some sort of terrace or semi-outdoor space would be really great.

Thanks in advance to the West Coast Hounds!

chasbwalker in San Francisco Bay Area