A Tale of One City, Two Areperas

After a long week of work, I had yesterday off from TL and decided to go out and taste some different food.  I've been to Valencia Luncheria before, but strangely never had their arepas or empanadas, two things foodwise Venezuela is best known for.  Valencia for a while was of the highest rated eating establishments in the Norwalk/Westport/Fairfield area with a 27 for food, so someone must have really liked it.  The tiny place is always crowded, especially around lunchtime.  A 15 minute wait for simple fried takeout  isn't surprising.  I opted for carne mechada in my arepa (typical Venezuelan slow cooked and shredded beef) and an empanada with black beans and cheese, no crazy flavor combo but bound to be good.  $7 plus change for both, and a satisfying and energy boosting lunch was mine.

First up I tasted the empanada...the dough, more sweet than savory, was thin and not too oily, just a bit of crunch and then into the hot interior of molten queso blanco and black beans with that signature Latin flavor of cumin, garlic and stock they're cooked in.  The beans weren't mushy, but starchy and firm enough to stand up to the heat, the cheese more there for texture than salinity.

The arepa was not quite as hot, with just a thin outer crust of the corn pocket providing the crunch, the rest of it mild without much salt and just simple corn flavor. It was not overstuffed with carne, just enough without it unfolding into a complete mess. The beef was very nicely cooked, very moist, tender and well shredded.  The flavors were simple and homey, like a good pot roast done with Venezuelan spices.  To dip was a bold chipotle sauce, spicy and smoky, and a pleasantly sour tomatillo salsa with always refreshing cilantro.  I probably could have eaten all of both, but my stomach was actually telling me when I was half done with each that I was satisfied.  My appetite has shrunk considerably in the 2+ weeks working in the restaurant.  Not that it should be taken as anything's wrong with the food...we're not stretching the meat sauce by adding ground thyroid glands or engaging in any unsanitary practices.  Just that smelling food all day decreases cravings and appetite, for me at least.        

Next stop, Westport Avenue and Masas Arepera for the same thing.  The stretch of Route 1 it's on is tough for new businesses...I've been going north and south through it as long as I remember, mentally cataloguing a fraction of the businesses located from the drive thru cleaners to Los Cabos, forgetting most of what's in between, until that one day every ten years I need to get a carpet cleaned.  I feel like people don't pull in on a whim to many of the tiny parking lots as they cruise by to take time checking out some of the small mom and pop type places.  Not a pedestrian-friendly area at all.  But that's America.  Some shops have surprisingly lasted years, but most of those who've opened in the last five are soon gone.  Remember Eno's Cheese Shop?  Yeah, that's what I thought.

Not that I wish anything but success for the people who decide to open up shop in the numerous and mostly tiny strip malls or whatever you'd call them.  Nicole and I always ponder though if the would-be entrepreneurs come from around here and know what the area is like...do they do their research?  If they do, do they think they're going to change the game and open a gem?  We all know the odds often thrown around on food establishments and their rates of success.  And lots of us have seen Kitchen Nightmares and other shows where you see what happens when people over-leverage.

I made the mile or so drive through that always congested crossroads of Norwalk and walking into Masas after Valencia was like night and day...despite it being twice the size, Masas was completely empty except for the couple of staff.  It's pretty new looking, with a blown up version of their menu on the wall, floor to the high ceiling to the left as you walk in, with pictures of a perro caliente and hamburguesa, among others, for visual aid.  Some items were curiously whited out with tape.  On the other side are huge photos showcasing the varied landscapes of Venezuela.

After ordering, as I waited I looked around to the other businesses in the area and noticed where there used to be a middle eastern joint was now a brand new Indian one.  Like I was saying...good luck, honestly.  I feel compelled to try it now.

Masas is slightly more expensive, but their arepa was definitely bigger than Valencia's.  Biting in to it, the meat was dryer and not as well shredded as Valencia's, and most importantly was significantly lacking in flavor.  Under-salted and devoid of that depth you should get from a good long cook with aromatics and spices.  The corn shell of the arepa was the right texture, for what it's worth.

The empanada was greasier than Valencia's, and the beans were mushier, again lacking their own distinct flavor.  Essentially just mushy brown/black stuff intermingled with melted white cheese.  Not terrible, but not memorable either.  I wanted to like it, wanted it to be good so I could say they really have something there.  But the feeling I got from the food was the feeling I got walking in; kind of indifferent, completely lacking the character and convivial vibe and commotion of Valencia.  They served one sauce with both my pockets, which seemed to be mayo based with some cilantro and a lot of garlic in it, nothing about it fresh or making for a particularly good condiment for either dish.

The same sentiment applied to Masas' location could be said of Valencia's, but in the case of the latter, they have become established as a gem within the strip mall landscape.  In this day and age of foodies and finding the next best thing wherever it may be, location and atmosphere aren't all that important.  In fact, sometimes less is more.  It's about good, distinct food.  If you ask a Venezuelan guy you know what he thinks of a place and he approves, it should be enough to keep it in business, considering how word travels (not that I asked anyone about Masas, but if I had a Venezuelan friend, I would have consulted them).  I didn't order up a huge sample from either place on my lunch journey, so to be fair maybe Masas' does have some redeeming dishes, but considering they call themselves an arepera, I don't think I can be blamed for not delving deeper.

Tarry Lodge Westport Is Here

How do I know?  Well, after years of deliberating and many a conversation with people about ways to put my love of food and all things Italian to practical use after my stint in Italy, I took the plunge when offered the job working the pizza oven at the new Tarry Lodge in Westport, situated in the space formerly occupied by Bonda and Abbondanza. 

As of this Tuesday, July 18th, we're officially open for business.  The past week has been one of long hours of work prepping and testing the menu, as well as getting all the new staff oriented and ready to go.  Mario LaPosta, the perfectionist pizza maestro and guy who hired me, has been working particularly hard, but for months not weeks to get the place up and running, along with Executive chef Andy Nusser. 

As for me, it's been an interesting and memorable experience donning the chef's clothes (not a fan of baggy pants) to step back into the realm of cooking for strangers.  It's amazing how much you learn and the comfort level you achieve in a short span of time when you're working with food 10-12 hours a day.  I have a ways to go to master the beast of an oven we have at TL, optimal operating temp of about 850° F,  but the product promises to be good and comes closer to vera pizza napoletana than anything else I've seen around here.

If you know me reasonably well or have read my profile here, you make pick up on an element of fate in all this...after all, as I've said before, Mario "Battaglia" Batali was the reason I began cooking.  So when news came that he and business partner Joe Bastianich would be expanding their empire up I-95 into Fairfield County, it seemed like I had to take a shot considering things seemed to be coming full circle in a way. 

Anyway, I've got to get back to it, but I hope to have more to tell about the experience in the coming days...