Reina Pepiada

I posted about arepas before when Kat and I had Friday night take out a while back. Arepas define Venezuelan cooking. An arepa is a cornmeal patty stuffed with basically whatever you want.  I had one version this past weekend that’s worth pointing out.

My buddy Nadjib and I started the night calmly at the Juan Sebastian Bar, which is a live-music jazz bar aimed at the 40-60 year old crowd. After a few drinks we had to choose between a $9 french onion soup or a $3 arepa down the street. Though I do enjoy a nice french onion soup every once in a while, we went for the arepa — definitely the right move. I had been wanting to try this one variety called Reina Pepiada for a couple weeks. This was my chance. We scored. It was pure fino cambur.

Reina Pepiada is a zesty avocado chicken salad named after Susana Duijm, a Venezuelan who won the Miss World pageant in 1955. It translates lovingly as “curvy queen.” Mmmmm.
Why have I never heard of an arepa food truck in Seattle or Portland? For the sake of all northwestern people, somebody…please.