A Follow-Up on Arepas & Co

Anyone kind enough to read has the lovely Pam Jackson to thank for this. ~grin~ I appreciate your interest, my dear. As for my experience at this little strip mall place, it’s mixed at best. Our few ‘hole in the wall’ mom and pop diners are often a treat, and this miniature Arepas & Co. chain ended up falling well below that mark.

Their limited menu didn’t surprise me. The availability did. They were out of both beef and bottled water, two prevalent options we requested. I will say the staff (of one guy) was very friendly. He served tepid tapwater in Styrofoam cups after a fruitless back room search for the bottled stuff we purchased.

Thank heaven he only suggested pork or chicken for the meat options. I would have left otherwise.

Many minutes later as we awaited our order, his coworker acted just as kind, asking if my partner wanted cojita cheese sprinkles. Then the arepas were served ‘open face’.

“I hope you don’t mind,” the portly fellow said, presenting sloppy messes.

I asked about flatware, after which my partner fetched another flimsy set after the clueless guy presented one plastic knife and fork. Then I dug in, famished after foolishly starving myself all day.

The shredded pork and chicken proved abundant, as were the paired red and black beans. The creamy cilantro sauce on the pork was tasty, like my partner’s mild garlic sauce, though the flavors could have been more plentiful.

My stomach hated the experience later. And I didn’t get to taste their fried plantains, which I’ve cherished elsewhere. Maybe that’s just as well.

Can you believe I stomached a bowl of my chili later? Should I give them another try, perhaps at the original location?

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