Arepitas – Harker Heights, Texas

We were looking for pizza, but ended up with an unexpected and delicious Venezuelan dinner. We had never heard of arepa or arepita, but after dinner that night, we were hooked. The restaurant is called Arepitas, in Harker Heights, Texas, and this place is a keeper.

We walked into what had been our favorite pizza restaurant. We noticed that the sign was missing from the storefront, but two men were working on ladders and we figured they were remodeling and had temporarily taken the sign down.

As we walked toward the ordering counter, my wife said, 

"This place is different. This isn't Vinos."

"If you're looking for Vinos, they're not here anymore," said a man at a table. "Sorry, but they're gone. We serve Venezuelan food."

 

We were confused, and surprised, and we stood there for a moment trying to decide what to do. We knew nothing about Venezuelan food, but we were about to learn something new.

"I think you'll like our food if you try it," said the man. "Pizza is just average; our food is special."

"I don't know," I said, smiling at him. "It's hard to beat good pizza." I knew he was giving me a sales pitch, and I wasn't sure I wanted to take his word for it. I looked up at the menu board, and the woman at the counter was smiling, and I thought, 'well, why not? If the food isn't good, then we won't come back.'

The women spent a few minutes describing the food and answering our questions, and we placed our order.

"It will be fifteen to twenty minutes," she said. "Everything is cooked fresh here."

I ordered The Hairy, which is arepa ('daily bread' in Spanish, specifically, arepita, meaning a small arepa) a yellow, ground maize dough, grilled or fried, filled with shredded beef, and cheese. Tiffany ordered The Pabellon, an arepita filled with shredded beef, fresh cooked black beans, cooked sweet plantains, avocado, and shredded white cheese.

Fifteen minutes later, the food arrived. It looked and smelled appetizing, and at the first bite I was instantly pleased that we decided to stay and try this unknown food. I looked at Tiffany and she smiled.

"This is really good," she said.

"Yes, it really is."

The arepita was crispy and tasty, the beef and cheese filling a perfect complement. Tiffany's meal had sweet plantains, but we also ordered it as a side dish, covered with shredded white cheese. The plantain was reminiscent of sweet potato, and the cheese was fresh and mild, yet distinctive. This was simple fare – not gourmet, as our host told us – but sometimes simple is spectacular, and that is exactly how to describe this meal.

Our host checked on us a few minutes later. "How do you like it?" she said.

"This is outstanding," I said. "We are very happy we stayed."

We took our time, enjoying this unexpected and delicious dinner, certain that this would not be our only visit to Arepitas. It's one thing to have a great meal with food you've had before, or were at least familiar with – like pizza. It's an entirely different pleasure to discover something you didn't even know about, and to have a fantastic, tasty dinner.

The man who had first spoken to us was still sitting nearby.

"You were right, sir," I said to him. "The food was excellent."

"Your new favorite place?" he said with a smile.

"It just might be."

If you've never had Venezuelan food, this is well worth experiencing. We will return soon to try other entrees at this new and interesting place. Do yourself a favor and visit the excellent eatery called Arepitas, where the food is delicious and the service is friendly and flawless. It is a restaurant worthy of many return visits.

Arepitas

360 W Central Texas Expy, Ste 205

Harker Heights, Texas 76548
(254) 220-4534

Larry Manch is an author, teacher, guitar player, freelance writer, and columnist. He has written 22 books; all available in paperback (some in e-book) on Amazon.com.

He writes about sports for Season Tickets, food and travel on Miles & Meals, and music/guitars on The Backbeat.

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