In West Roxbury, everyday tastes of Venezuela
OK. Viva Mi Arepa may seat only 12, it's out-of-the-way on a somewhat drab West Roxbury corner, and so do-it-yourself that you order at a counter, and then peer at specials in steamer trays through a scratched, yellowed window. Oh, and it's loud (the TV, and sometimes the radio as well, is always on). But what you trade in the usual niceties, you gain in good, hard-to-find Venezuelan cooking.
Once there, your first words should be "I'd like an arepa, please." When you bite into this grilled white corn bread, which is chewy on the outside, soft and biscuit-like inside, you'll understand why it's eaten any time of day, every day in Venezuela.
Chef and owner Edner Trenteetun makes his arepas fresh to order with Harina P.A.N. cornmeal, which has a subtle corn flavor like that of grits. They take about 20 minutes to grill, which we preferred to having them fried. Pressed down with white farmer's cheese oozing out, the queso blanco arepa ($4) is as comforting as the best mom-made grilled cheese. With their garlicky, wine-spiked tomato sauce sopped up into the bread, pulled chicken ($4) and pork ($4) arepas have just the right tang. Our one fried order, the reina pepiada arepa ($4), turns up a calories-be-damned, crunchy golden disc of bread bursting with mayo-rich chicken salad and avocado slices as thick as lime wedges.
During the day, homemade cornmeal empanadas ($2.25) fly out the door - and they are best midday, just after they are fried. Or try cachapas ($6-$7), savory corn pancakes with sweet whole corn kernels, meat, and cheese grilled right into the dough.
The hopping lunchtime crowd also tends to favor the day's "dinners" ($7-$9). We enjoyed the tomato-y carne guisada (stewed beef), herb-crusted pollo asado (grilled chicken), and lemony pernil guisado (stewed pork), as much as the savory red beans, fluffy white rice, sweet-and-juicy fried plantains, and wonderfully soft, juice-box-size hunks of steamed yucca.
Evenings are quieter. While a few stragglers come in for take-out, we're the only table in the cheery space, which is painted in the gold, red, and blue of the Venezuelan flag. The a la carte entrees we try deserve a greater draw. Before buying Viva Mi Arepa in 2005, Trenteetun spent 27 years cooking in high-end hotel kitchens in Caracas and here.
Whole red snapper ($12) with its rich coconut sauce, moist flesh, fat green olives, and surprise smear of avocado-cilantro-garlic paste, could easily win applause at an upscale hot spot, although the bones might distract some diners.
Garlic shrimp ($12), a bit salty, are springy and moist in a dusky, wine-splashed escabèche. We had ordered paella 24 hours in advance ($15-$17.50) and were glad we did. Every piece of seafood - from the squid and calamari to the shrimp, mussels, and littleneck clams - is tender and plump. No small feat.
Nearly every dish (especially the pork chops, $9) is even better with a squirt of garlicky "guasacaca," an addictive avocado-parsley mayo ($.25). Though perhaps desserts should be eaten without it. Try sweet, eggy flan ($2.50) or a tropical fruit shake ($3).
To dine on Trenteetun's cooking, you need to be willing to suffer through a blaring TV with programs like "Make Me a Supermodel." And yes we would - even if they turned up the volume.
