Thursday, May 27, 2010

Heading Back to San Francisco After Making it Here

Weather permitting, we'll be back in San Francisco tonight after a great trip to New York City. The meetings with the publisher went very well, and I got to check the final proofs of the cookbook. By the way, I'll be posting soon with much more specific details. There are some very exciting things in the works.

Here you see my newest food obsession, Venezuelan sandwiches called Arepas. We enjoyed these at a place called Caracas Arepas Bar in New York's East Village, and I was completely blown away. How is it possible I've only now just discovered these amazing buns? If you have any information, recipes, tips, or tricks you'd care to pass along, please do. Thanks, and stay tuned!

10 comments:

Nico said...

This is an age-old argument, but you'll hear Colombians (like me) claim arepas vs. the Venezuelans :-)

Personally, outside of those filled with egg, I've noticed that the more fried and filled versions are Venezuelan, the more dry-heat and topped (like a pizza... but with different ingredients of course) are Colombian.

Just thought I'd share :-)
Love the blog!

Henning said...

As much as I try to claim not to be a fan of Bobby Flay, he did an episode of Throw Down in NYC about Arepas that looked very tasty. Link to his recipe below.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/bobby-flay/arepas-with-octopus-and-lobster-salad-recipe/index.html

Anonymous said...

Hi Chef John,
If you ever happen to go back to NYC’s East Village, you must try the pizza at Gnocco, 337 East 10th Street, New York, NY 10009-5034 (http://www.gnocco.com/). One of the best pizzas I’ve ever tasted; simply fantastic and the place has great ambiance. My wife and I were in NYC last week and this was a great find. Check it out. All the best.
Martin

Anonymous said...

Looking forward to hearing ALL ABOUT the trip! Welcome (tonight) Home! You left with the rising sun, now you can check out that moon!

Shannon said...

I love San Fran!!! I have often wondered how arepas were as I have seen them from time to time...they look delicious!!!

P said...

Arepitas are best eaten with salty paisa cheese, which is a salty white cheese!!! What a good idea for a new video Chef, Arepas with paisa!

Dietrich said...

I´m a German raised in Venezuela. Now I live in Spain and all Saturday, is a MUST for me, eat Arepas. I will kill for them. Some tricks I learn are: use warm water some oil don´t over mix an leave the dough rest, for a least (Aprox.20 min.) until you see a homogeneous dough. You can fried it, or make it on the Owen, some people boiled first like bagels and then in Owen. I prefer first toast there in a iron grill and finish them in the Owen that way it will be crispy outside an warm an soft in the inside.

Thank your for your amazing work and share all your expertise with us in this Blog

Dietrich said...

Take a look I haven´t try the recipe but looks good:

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Grilled-Arepas-with-Farmers-Cheese-or-Queso-Blanco-358949

Grilled Arepas with Farmer's Cheese (or Queso Blanco) Epicurious | May 2010
by Rafael Palomino
Latin Grill: Sultry and Simple Food for Red-Hot Dinners and Parties

Chef John said...

thanks everyone!!

Unknown said...

My FAVORITE food! My mom is Venezuelan and she used to make arepas a lot when I was a kid. Now I make them! There are many recipes; I saw one with eggs mixed into the dough. There's a recipe where you stuff the dough with meat, then cook the stuffed arepas balls in tomato sauce. I can't remember what it's called, but it's very tasty!!!!