Showing posts with label domino. Show all posts
Showing posts with label domino. Show all posts

Monday, October 27, 2014

Arepas arrive in London's hipster-haven Brick Lane

All text and photographs copyright Russell Maddicks
Follow me on Twitter: @venezuelaguide

It's only fitting that one of East London's trendiest hipster hangouts now has a food truck selling this year's hottest new street food: arepas.

In Venezuela and Colombia these fluffy corn-dough pockets are stuffed with tasty savoury fillings like beef, chicken and cheese to make snacks you can eat anytime of the day.

Now Venezuelan expat Giacomo Tomaselli and his Polish partner Inga have brought their own twist on classic arepa recipes to the Brick Lane area.

It's not hard to find them: a massive sign announces "Arepa: Venezuelan Street Kitchen" and some very tropical multicoloured stripes decorate their shiny black Arepazos Bros food truck in Ely's Yard. This otherwise unremarkable car park round the back of the Old Truman Brewery (E1 6QL) comes alive from midday as the food trucks open up and the area fills with diners taking a break from browsing the market stalls, pop-up art galleries, vintage clothes shops, and racks of vinyl in the Rough Trade indie record store.

The menu features a choice of three arepa fillings: the traditional pabellon (shredded beef or chicken with plantain, black beans and cheese), the vegetarian domino (black beans, grated cheese, pico de gallo, and guacamole), and the Peruvian inspired ceviche (fish marinated in lemon juice).

Giacomo explained that after much experimentation he had decided to add a fresh-tasting Mexican-style pico de gallo sauce to his arepas made from roughly-chopped tomato, onion, and coriander.

He also serves a thick avocado guacamole, rather than the runnier Venezuelan sauce known as guasacaca.

The day I went I had the pabellon. The shredded beef was just right, the guacamole was thick and creamy, and the plantain fries were crispy.

A set of benches in front of the stall offers covered seating for customers. Five other food trucks sell a variety of burgers, chicken and pulled pork if there's somebody in your party who wants an alternative to arepas.

You can even bring your own booze if you want to wash down your arepas with a few cold beers bought from a local corner store (always a great way to save a few pennies).


 
Giacomo is originally from Caraballeda, a town on the Caribbean coast of Venezuela near the capital Caracas. His grandfather ran a famous ice-cream parlour called Helados Tomaselli near the old Macuto Sheraton. The food truck is Giacomo's very own creation, made from an old horse box.
If you come from Liverpool Street Tube station the route takes you past the old Spitalfield's Market and entry to Ely's Yard is from Hanbury Street, or Dray Walk if you're coming from Brick Lane.
 
Once you've eaten your arepas you can check out the Brick Lane clothes market and some of the street art in the area. 

There's at least one Banksy painted on a wall in Brick Lane. The street is famous for its Bangladeshi curry houses, although if you come on a Sunday when the local markets are in full swing, be ready to to wade through the hordes of hipsters in skinny jeans and Doc Martin boots that fill the streets.

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Venezuelan food now on sale in Southampton

Hot and tasty Venezuelan snacks are now available in Southampton on Saturdays, after Yasmily Barrios Teran decided to open a stall selling traditional food from her native Venezuela at the seaside city's popular Bargate Market.

Teran, originally from Maracay, only started selling Venezuelan empanadas (fried cornmeal turnovers with savoury fillings) and arepas one month ago.

The empanadas on sale include plain cheese, cheese and plantain, "domino" (cheese and black beans), shredded beef, minced beef, fish, and the very filling "pabellon" (shredded beef, plantain, rice and black beans).

For those with a sweet tooth, she also sells churros con chocolate, a traditional Spanish combination of piped donut mix that is deep fried, sprinkled with sugar or cinnamon, and served with hot chocolate. A great way to keep out the cold on a chilly day.

The response from her British customers has been so positive that she now plans to continue with the stall until Christmas.

"I didn't know what to expect from the local people. There are no other Venezuelan food stalls here, Venezuelan food is not well known and they haven't tried empanadas before. But they love them, especially the domino - filled with cheese and black beans - which really surprised me," she says.

On her stall, Teran stresses the health benefits of arepas and empanadas, which are made with cornmeal flour and are wheat and gluten-free (perfect for coeliac sufferers).

She uses halal meat so the local Asian population can tuck in too.

For an authentic Venezuelan empanada experience, be sure to spoon on the homemade sauces - a smooth guasacaca (wah-sa-kaka), made with avocadoes, and a fiery picante.

Now she's established, Teran hopes the word will spread and more people will seek out her Venezuelan snacks, especially Venezuelans living in the South of England.

If you want to taste Yasmily Barrios Teran's empanadas visit Bargate Market in Southampton from 8 a.m. to 4.30 p.m. any Saturday.

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Lunch with Los Amigos Invisibles



Max and Jason of Current TV join Venezuelan band Los Amigos Invisibles for a brunch of arepas and cachapas at Beverly Hills' famous gourmet java-joint Coupa Cafe.

The restaurant is run by Jean Paul Coupal, the French-Canadian owner of Cafe Arabica in Caracas.

The menu combines single-estate coffees from the finest fincas in Venezuela with hefty helpings of popular dishes such as Pabellon Criollo, a perico platter and parchita (passion fruit) bon bons made from Venezuelan cocoa.

The song "Yo No Se", which plays in the background, comes from Amigos Invisible's album "Superpop".

To download Los Amigos Invisibles MP3 tracks click here:

To buy the CD "The Venezuelan Zinga Son, Vol. 1" click here:

To buy the new CD "Commercial" click here:




Arepa and Co: The only Venezuelan food outlet in the UK

Recipe: How to Make Arepas

Recipe: Caraotas Negras - Venezuelan Black Beans

Recipe: Carne Mechada - Venezuelan Shredded Beef

Pabellon Criollo - Venezuela's National Dish

Glossary: Eating at an Arepera