Description
At Guacuco, Venezuelan arepas get the proper restaurant treatment. The chef and owner are a mother and son, respectively, and their stuffed corn patties have a fresh, handmade vitality that proves Guacuco's mettle in post-Roberta's, gourmet Bushwick. Named after a beach on Margarita Island, the restaurant is colorful and subtly festive with an open kitchen that evokes an equatorial chillness--crucial during the industrial neighborhood's winter months. The creamy-textured Guayanes cheese balances savory in Guacuco's most typical arepas, but more extravagant options expand the flavor, like the Mariscada (squid, shrimp, and mussels in a red sauce). Pabellon Criollo--Venezuela's national dish of shredded beef, black beans, and sweet plantains--comes stuffed into an arepa or on a plate with white rice and speckled with cheese. The empanadas are elegantly poofed and crisped, without the densely crimped edges that afflict many varieties. Guacuco is too refined to be dirt-cheap, but the food is reasonably priced and quite hearty. And if you want to enjoy it at home? The restaurant happily delivers. --Alex Spoto
