(Photos: Daniel Maurer)
For the past four summers Caracas has had the lock on arepas in Rockaway but that’s now changed with the arrival of Palenque Homemade Colombian Food.
The Smorgasburg fixture has started slinging Colombian-style arepas out of the Beach 97th Street concession stand while Caracas continues to dole out Venezuelan-style arepas from its perch on Beach 106th Street. Between these two, the Peruvian La Cevicheria, and the Bolivian Llama Party (not to mention the upcoming Masafest), a good chunk of South America is now repped on the boardwalk.
We’re told Palenque, which also operates a food truck, will remain next to Low Tide Bar, a slot that was last occupied by Champs, for the rest of the summer on a daily basis.
If you’re a fan (and who wouldn’t be) of the handheld, overstuffed corn buns Caracas serves at its Williamsburg, East Village and Rockaway locations, you’ll notice Palenque’s arepas are a bit different. The relatively thin grilled patties are available in your choice of corn or multigrain, and are topped with various organic ingredients (plus cilantro salsa and vegan chipotle mayo) rather than stuffed with them.
Here’s the menu.
