Last weekend, my best friend traveled all the way from Austin, TX for a New York City visit.  Since she had fed me so well when I went to Austin, I had to return the favor.  The problem is, there are so many good restaurants in the city, how to choose?  Well, sometimes narrowing choices to a neighborhood helps.  Friday night, we made a plan to go bowling at The Gutter in Williamsburg for some beers (or cider, in my case) and bowling.  The decision then became simple: Caracas.  Caracas is an arepa bar.  Arepas are corn based pitas from Venezuela that you stuff with delicious meats, veggies, and cheeses and are naturally gluten-free.

Caracas has two NYC locations, the East Village and Williamsburg. I’ve never been to the East Village location despite making the trek there twice only to end up getting Indian food because of the long wait.  Caracas in Williamsburg is much bigger and in a more discrete location, therefore less crowded, although on a Friday night at 8 pm with 5 people, we waited 20 minutes.  Caracas has a fun, inviting, casual feel to it.  Although the lighting is dim, the place doesn’t feel too romantic or somber.  The tables are set for groups instead of couples and although my friend thought it would be a good date location, she specified first date, and not a 5th anniversary dinner.

The menu is relatively simple.  There are salads for people that eat salads at an arepa bar, appetizers/sides, arepas, empanadas, and large plates.  Although the menu doesn’t specify gluten free items, the servers are really accommodating and knowledgeable because they probably attract a lot of glutards.  If you are going for an arepa, they recommend 1-2 per person but really about 1.5 is plenty, so finding a friend to split three with you is a good idea.  I decided to have the special pumpkin diablo soup (because it’s fall and I’m craving anything pumpkin) and the De La Pernil arepa (roasted pork shoulder with tomato slices and a spicy mango sauce).  My friends ordered a combination of arepas and empanadas, which are also gluten-free, but I didn’t know that at the time.

That’s the soup.  It was really, really good. My taste buds found the soup spicy enough to have me sweating but not so much to turn me off, although my friend who eats REALLY spicy things said he couldn’t taste it at all.  I liked the sweet pumpkin flavor paired with the hotness of the peppers and other hot spices, it made for a really well rounded dish.

And that’s me eating my arepa.  I’m holding it delicately because it was piping hot, almost too much so to eat.  I guess that’s a good thing though.  I wish the mango sauce was more pronounced because all I tasted was spicy pork meat in my chewy in a good way arepa.  I tried the chicken arepa, which was tasty, especially the sweet onions.  Both dishes left me full, hot, and wishing I had ordered another passion fruit juice spiked with rum- all in a good way.  Oh, did I mention that the soup, arepa, and drink cost me $22 with tax and tip.  That’s a GREAT deal in New York.  I’ll definitely be back and ready to try an empanada.