Guacoloco!

So Mark is Colombian and it was through meeting him and being a girl he could take to meet his Mama that I was able to get to know the amazingness that is an arepa. The first time I went out to eat with with Mark and his Mom was at a little Colombian bakery right off Lincoln Avenue in Chicago. There we sat and had crisp empanadas, the unique taste of bunelos, the sweetness of arequipe, and you guessed it sweet corn arepas with a layer of lightly melted queso blanco on top. It was divine--Mark's mom and I even went a couple of times without him it was so good. 

Just recently, meaning this Summer, a little Venezuelan restaurant, called Guacuco opened right here in Bushwick and when Mark and I finally checked it out we fell in love--with the arepas that is!

Quick South American history lesson: As you may be aware, Colombia and Venezuela are next door neighbors and way back in the day, under Simon Bolivar, were even one country---Gran Colombia. Unfortunately, this didn't work out and they've been frenemy neighbors ever since. The best the thing that came out of all of this, however, has been their mutual love of arepas and like all love it comes under different interpretations. Colombia likes to melt some cheese on top and Venezuelans--they make it in to a sandwich. It is like the burger of Venezuela.

You may be asking why do I say Guacoloco? It is called Guacuco. Well, a time or two I have been to a little Lower East Side joint called San Loco that carries an item on their menu called the Guacoloco taco. For some reason, I got this menu item and name of the arepas place confused (say Guacoloco and say Guacuco--it sounds the same right?).  When I figured it out, after calling it Guacoloco for months, I decided to to keep calling it that because I like guacamole. Guacoloco sounds like crazy guacamole to me and I really like the idea of guacamole being crazy and so the name stayed.


However, there is no actual guacamole at Guacuco. There is, however, lots of avocado if you so choose. Mark and I stopped over this afternoon and I picked up the Vegetariana. I am not a vegetarian but it is just so good I can't resist. It contains slices of super fresh avocados (I am loco about avocados), Venezuelan guayanes cheese, sweet plantains, and a slice of tomato to keep things fresh. See the pic below. Seriously, how good does that look?

The arepa has a great crisp outside and yummy breaking apart inside. The sweetness of plantain combined the saltiness of the cheese is such an opposites attract kind of moment. It is so smooth and the avocado and tomato are amazing compliments. Each arepa comes with three different sauces to choose from: spicy, a mayo based option, and a herb sauce. I opted to do different bites with the spicy and herb. I couldn't decide which I like best--both are so good.


Mark chose to get Pabellon arepa. This included: shredded beef, white salty cheese, sweet plantians, and black beans. His was not as light as mine, but from what I gathered with my small bite, it is hearty and comforting--a perfect winter's meal. It was spicy and incredibly tender and all the elements really put together entire meal placed in one little sandwich--it was like a Cuban Ropa Veija in an arepa.

 Needless to say while we were walking those three blocks home after our meal we felt very sleepy and considered the best possible thing to do after a yummy meal--a nap! xoxo happy nibbling!

http://www.yelp.com/biz/guacuco-brooklyn