At a restaurant like Arepa Mia that’s built such a loyal following, you could be forgiven for only ever ordering their namesake dish, the arepa. But, another section of the menu beckons — the cachapas. The cachapa pernil, in particular, is a sweet, savory temptation that just may pull your attention away from the arepas.
Similar in concept to the arepa, but very different in execution, cachapas are another Venezuelan street food based on a flat, pancake-like quick bread. While the cachapa also is gluten-free, it’s more like sweet cornbread, or a johnnycake, than an arepa, which is reminiscent of an English muffin. In the cachapa pernil, the semi-sweet cachapa folds like a gigantic taco around a filling of slow-roasted pork.
The flavorful pork is cooked in a tangy mojo sauce, accented with sweet onions and cilantro. If you like spice, the dish takes extremely well to the Thai chile hot sauce available on request.
It makes sense that this dish is such a popular street food in Venezuela; the rich pork and hearty cachapa combine for a well-rounded, filling meal in a single package. At $9.50 at Arepa Mia, it’s hard to find a much more satisfying or interesting meal for less. That is, unless you look at the arepas at the top of the menu. Of course, if you’re anything like most visitors to Arepa Mia, you’ll be back for another cachapa or arepa soon.
Arepa Mia. 10 N. Clarendon Ave., Avondale Estates. 404-600-3509, arepamiaatlanta.com.
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