FOOD: Brunch at Caracas Arepas Bar [NYC]

Tucked into Grand St., Caracas Arepas Bar’s Brooklyn outpost has become a neighborhood favorite for their authentic arepas and delicious Venezuelan food. Incorporating a brunch menu has made Caracas even more enjoyable, by combining the best of Venezuelan food and drink with the best time of day. With a menu that features creative cocktails, an all-you-can-drink mimosa special and arepas stuffed with eggs, caracas is your one stop hangover cure.

Their expanded brunch menu adds Venezuelan-styled scrambled eggs called Perico to their arepas. Options include Guyanes cheese, chorizo and ham for simple but delicious breakfast arepas. Larger plates are also offered for those who want more of a full meal rather than an arepa. The plates come with the Perico, and either shredded beef and white cheese or fried sweet plantains with avocado and white cheese.

On my trip there, I sampled the Llanera arepa which mixed the Perico with salty cheese and avocado. Simple, yet delicious, it was one of the lighter dishes on the menu. The second arepa I sampled was the De Pabellon, which had shredded beef, black beans, salty cheese and sweet plantains. The meat was juicy and seasoned well, and melted into the black beans and plantains. Both arepas were stuffed to the brim, giving a mix of all of the flavors with each bite. Since their regular menu is available all day, I also ordered the Yoyos because it’s difficult for me to say no to sweet plantains. They were fried in cinnamon and plantain butter, which I didn’t even know was a thing, and topped with white cheese. Even though I had never had it before, it felt like a comfort food that I had known my whole life. It was difficult not to be happy while eating it.

With a full service bar, Caracas serves up Venezuelan inspired cocktails to compliment their menu. Venezuelan rum is used in many of the drinks, and each week a new special is created from their kitchen. Recent cold-weather offerings included their take on a hot toddy, with aged Venezuelan rum, orange, ginger, honey and clove, and their 3-1 Cocktail featuring rum infused with beets. If you’re not feeling a full cocktail during brunch, Bottomless Mimosas are offered with the option to mix champagne with passion fruit, pomegranate, or blood orange to wash down those delicious arepas.

Caracas Arepas Bar
291 Grand Street
Brooklyn, 12211

[caption id="attachment_77076" align="alignnone" width="449"] Yoyos[/caption]