A Word On Food: Arepas
As Betty Fussell put it... I too am, "Crazy For Corn"
We have had arepas and we have had arepas. Don’t let that sound confusing. Arepas, like breads cover a lot of ground and accompany a lot of comestibles!
My inaugural arepa was probably at a street fair or a carnival. The sight and smell of them cooking in the stalls by families had me enticed well before I ever sank my teeth into one.
The distinguished food writer Elizabeth Ortiz tells us, that “the arepa are unique in the world of bread since they are made with cooked flour. Dried corn kernels are boiled with lime, (to loosen the skins), then the kernels are drained and ground, and, if not for immediate use, are dried and packaged as flour. Though the method of cooking the corn is the same for both tortillas and arepas, the results are very different because of the difference in the types of corn used. The corn for arepas has very large kernels, giving us a rather starchy flour.”
At ‘Doggi’s’ restaurant on Coral Way we went to see how that Venezuelan place would handle them. How have I missed that beehive of contagious joy for so long? My wife Janet and I luckily scored a table for two and sat amidst what seemed to be either a New Year’s Eve party or a World Cup Soccer finale. It was however neither in terms of the actual calendar. That is pretty much the daily state of things within the four happy walls of Doggi’s. We were impressed by the fact that they make their own organic cheese there. They also make what must be bathtub sized batches of the ‘garlic’ and ‘parsley’ sauces that grace each table. But the thing that stood out about Doggi’s is their kind of Arepas! They were not the cheese laden, pancake soft kind we had enjoyed before … and will enjoy again. These arepas were more like stuffed tortillas and had a leaner kind of modus. As opposed to the dreamy sweet softness these arepas were kind of an austere lot. Like arepas raised in a convent versus a carnival!
I learned that we could purchase some of their arepas to take home. I was dreaming of what we could conjure to fill up these earthy arepas in our own way. Duck carnitas leapt to mind first. That could be blamed on the reading of Mexico’s dazzling chef Enrique Olvera and his smash version heating up the internet as the duck he makes is braised with chilies and Coca Cola. This is how cuisine works for me.
The seemingly chaotic jumble of influences and inspirations leads me to new dishes. Yet I find it is always helpful if the mad ramblings have a strong root structure to form the bass line or drum beat …if you will.
Doggi’s chefs feel a freedom to fill theirs in many ways too. At the Arepa Bar you can get them with carne mechada, asado negro, chorizo, a version called Santa Barbara, a classic ‘dominó’ made with black beans and white cheese, hence the name or one with sweet plantains, queso de mano and avocado. And I’m not even done listing all you can have. The one we got? We got two! One with a fried egg on top.
I asked how they got their name for the place as we were leaving. Our pretty waitress said, “Oh. We started out as a hot dog truck.” Such is cuisine!
I’m Norman Van Aken and that’s my Word on Food ©.
