Arepitas serves a taste of Venezuela
Story by Catherine Hosman
Photos by Becky Stinehour
Arepitas Restaurant in Harker Heights is a family-owned and operated eatery that brings the flavors and colors of Venezuela to its patrons.
Husband and wife team Tony Caselle and Maria Fernanda Rodriguez prepare the food of their childhood adding their own infusion of flavors.
“We love food, we love to eat. Back home we made food for our friends,” Maria said.
When they first arrived in Central Texas two and a half years ago from Caracas, Venezuela, the couple wanted to find a way to share their love of native food with others.
“We love to eat, that was our main inspiration,” Tony said. “And we love to cook.”
His parents taught Tony how to prepare high quality meals with fresh food, natural seasonings and sauces. His mother, Carrie, helps at the restaurant.
“She was a full-time mom. Every time I came home she was cooking for me,” he said. Some days it was his dad who would create “an amazing meal” from whatever ingredients they had in the kitchen.
Maria said her late mother taught her everything she knows about cooking. “When we moved here something awoke in me,” she said. “I started to cook things like mom used to cook; put together all the pieces.”
Their menu includes arepas, a white cornmeal pocket that can be stuffed with any combination of fresh foods from breakfast to dinner; tequeños, cachapas, empanadas and pepito. But it’s their tostones that take center stage.
“Our tostones are made with love,” said Maria of their best-selling item. “It’s an amazing combination of flavors.”
Tostones is a rainbow of fresh vegetables cut daily, homemade sauces and light cheese mounded on a layer of crispy, fried plantains. The colorful plate is almost too pretty to eat, but one bite will change your mind.
“I wanted to know Venezuelan food and give it to the community,” Tony said. “Our food has no additives, no hormones and is made from scratch. We use only high-quality ingredients. People don’t have to go to Austin for real food.”
Tony and Maria want everyone who walks into Arepitas to feel at home, and Maria makes it a point to remember their customers’ names.
“Someone can escape work, come here and feel like home,” Tony said. “Here you are not just a number, but a part of the family.”
Everything at Arepitas is made from scratch daily. It also takes a little longer to prepare “because everything is made to order,” Tony said. “It’s not fast food.”
You can call ahead to place your order before arrival to sit in or take out, but either way, customers should be prepared to wait. The minimum wait time is about 15 minutes, but sometimes it’s “25 minutes to an hour,” Tony said as Maria chimed in, “And they wait.”
The couple has full command of their restaurant, which seats 36. “I can see everything happening,” Maria said.
“If you have bigger place, you lose control,” Tony added. “Customers really matter. The inspiration for us is for customers to have the best experience. When you have 100 tables it’s really hard.”
IF YOU GO
Location: 360 W. Central
Texas Expressway, Suite 205,
Harker Heights
Phone: 254-220-4534
Dine in or carry out. Arepitas Restaurant also caters.
Hours: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday; closed Sunday
The restaurant does not serve alcohol, however, you may BYOB.
Tostones
1 green plantain
2 ounces or a handful of shredded green cabbage
2 ounces or a handful of shredded purple cabbage
2 ounces or a handful of shredded carrots
2 ounces of fresh white cheese (shredded)
1 Hass avocado
Fresh cilantro, for garnish
2 ounces of mayonnaise
4 ounces of ketchup
Salt to taste
Corn oil (necessary amount)
Peel and cut the plantain into 6 equal pieces (no skin or bark should remain).
Fry the 6 pieces in hot oil (350 degrees) for 3 to 4 minutes, remove from the oil, to better results drain on absorbent paper and with a flat plate crush the banana to about 0.3-inch thick.
Fry crushed plantain pieces again for a couple of minutes or until golden, remove from the fryer and immediately add salt to taste, cuddle on absorbent paper and reserve.
In a bowl, mix the fresh vegetables, previously striped or shredded (cabbage and carrot), reserve.
Grate the fresh cheese and reserve.
In a small bowl, mix mayonnaise with the half of ketchup (2 ounces), mix well until a pink sauce is left, reserve with the rest of the ketchup. For better results at decoration time, you can pour them in a sauce dispenser with a fine peak.
Cut the avocado in half and make 6 vertical cuts of equal size (to remove the slices from the avocado peel, it is advisable to use a tablespoon).
In a large dish, preferably square or rectangular, place the 6 plantain chips (tostones), add the two previously reserved sauces on top of the tostones, then place the cabbage evenly over them, continue to sprinkle enough cheese on top of the salad, place each slice of avocado on top of the salad, make transverse lines with both sauces and decorate with fresh coriander and salt to taste.
