I visited Caracas in late fall, 1974, and it is a sobering thought that at that time, Hugo Chavez was only 20 years old. I don’t remember much. Slums, laundry hanging from crumbling balconies, and the usual Third World sights and sounds were everywhere. A rickety DeSoto from the Fifties served as a taxi.
But oh, how I remember the street food. I wasn’t expecting the scent of grilled beef and pork ribs to be all around me, but it was, sold at kiosks built up around wooden fires with makeshift grates placed on them for cooking. And then there were the arepas, fat cakes of untreated masa split and stuffed with the filling of your choice. The arepa is a religion in Venezuela. And now, there is a place to eat them here in Vegas.
Viva Las Arepas, formerly the food stand known as I Love Arepas, with the heart symbol subbing for the word love, sits just north of the Stratosphere on Las Vegas Blvd. Owner Felix Arellano would have called in by its original name, but some unscrupulous fellow trademarked the name, and then tried to charge him a fee for using it.
not your mama's chicken soup
Undaunted, Felix, who came to this country with less than a thousand dollars, decided to change the name of his restaurant, which is now one of the true jewels of Downtown eating. Yes, I do love arepas, but I love his parrilla mixta, a grilled meat extravaganza, a whole lot more.
chef felix at the grill
Felix actually recognized me from his days at Piero Selvaggio Valentino. I’m sorry to say I didn’t remember him, but I will now. You’ll want to start a meal here with one of a number of tropical fruit drinks, passion fruit, or even soursop, better known by a name in Spanish, guanabana. Venezuela is tropical, but it’s also a Caribbean country. There are many dishes that are similar to what you’d eat in say, Jamaica, or even Cuba, but they all have a special Venezuelan twist.
We ordered the arepa Perico, a ham, egg and cheese stuffed corn cake. Think South American egg McMuffin. Felix also brought us a shrimp arepa. Wow. The shrimp has a great flavor, and the arepa is especially delicious when doused with guasacoco, sauce based on mayonnaise, but unlike anything you’ve ever tasted.
Felix also sells empanadas and pastelitos, basically turnovers with savory fillings. I love his ground meat and rice pastelito, but the coconut and cheese is interesting, too, and a guava and cheese empanada is as well.
About those meats, anyway. $29.99 gets you a meatfest you won’t believe. Sausages, carne asada, (rib eye steak, marinated and cut into strips, pork ribs on the bone, and his amazing wood fired grilled chicken, at this writing, the best in the city.
stuffed corn griddle cake
You’ll get it with a side dish such as yucca frita, fried pieces of a starchy root, regular French fries (if you insist), or my choice, Felix’s delicious rice and vegetable medley with lots of corn, beans, carrots and greens, cooked into the rice.
pastelito and cheese stick
Viva Las Arepas marinates all the meats overnight, in fact, before finishing them on the wood grill. They are cooked perfectly and seasoned just right. Can we extend the name to say I Heart Viva Las Arepas. I truly do.
At 1616 S. Las Vegas Blvd. 366-9696.
