Rick Powell
Google
Second visit update and apologies to anyone who ate at this place on my recommendation!
Me and a friend of mine ducked in here for a quick bite because Chido, a newish Mexican joint in Microcentro, wasn't open, even though the promo flyer the owner had given us less than 24 hours previously stated that they would be. Just some advice for anyone visiting BA: Don't believe posted hours in print or especially on the web. Actually, take everything you read with a grain of salt.
Anyway, here goes with impressions of the second visit.
Right off, we were told that the 2x100 arepas promotion on the menu, and that I enjoyed the last time, was no longer in effect. Great that they told us before we ordered, but saving 20 pesos for 2 sounds like a good deal for everyone. If you can't sell in volume with a modest promotion like that, then something's clearly wrong with the business model.
We wanted beer. Usually cans are more expensive than a liter in a bottle. Not here so OK, we ordered two cans of Quilmes because Brahma sucks worse than Quilmes. But they only had one can of Quilmes, we found out only after we flagged down the server asking where the hell were our beers. Either auto-serve the beer first, or ask if the guest wants the beer with the meal.
Since the promotion was no longer valid, my friend had only ordered one arepa. (See how that works?) Yet she still got 2. Strike 2. Or strike 1 and a half depending on how you're counting.
My friend's arepas came and they didn't look like the small works of art I had the last time. And they were cold in spots, lukewarm in others. This is a Venezuelan spot. You gotta get the arepas right. Right?
We both really liked the garlic-avocado mildly picante salsa that came with the meal. Really REALLY liked it. (They didn't have it the last time I was here.) But it came in a tiny plastic bag tied in a tight knot. I guess that's normal many places in the world, but would it kill you to put it in a squeeze bottle like all the rest of your condiments? Or a ramekin? On a saucer? Anything?
I ordered a macanuda because I liked the name, not because I knew what the hell it was, other than some sort of Venezuelan hamburger iteration. The burger was a Paty, which is a preformed, perfectly round, usually-comes-frozen, processed beef product that Argentines and others in Latin America used to believe represented an American-style hamburger. It's springy and tacky and very salty and burger-flavored, to put it charitably. The bun was smashed and toasted on a grill like a panini, which was OK I guess. The panceta could have used some more time on the grill. Fried egg on top, overcooked. A half of a tomato slice, I seem to remember... I would have probably enjoyed this if it had been 4 in the morning and I'd been drunk. At 80 pesos, however, though cheap, I still felt ripped off.
My friend ordered tequeños, which are battered and fried cheese sticks. I know I'm in a minority here, but I don't really like fried cheese in any form, in any country, but these were cold and hard when we got them and so I had one bite and put it back in the basket. My friend didn't eat them all either, but said the salsa made them just edible.
After this visit, I can't recommend Parados Urbanfood.
But here's my previous post:
Only 2 reviews? Hmmm. This popular, late-night hole-in-the-wall on pedestrian-only Lavalle deserves more and better than that. Simple, tasty, and perfectly presented arepas are 2 x 100. All the sandwiches, including a variety of Venezuelan -style hamburgers as well as Venezuelan-exclusive stuff like tequeños (fried cheese sticks with a pastry crust) and pepitos (giant condiment-stuffed sandwiches) are under 100 pesos. The garlic sauce that comes on the side is kick-ass. Even the beer is reasonably priced. The only thing this place needs is a good hot sauce. Why would anyone eat at McDonald's when this place is open? Venezuelans wait in line and now I know why. Go here, and buy a couple kilos of P.A.N. while you're at it.
