La Cocinita Brings Arepas, Empanadas, and Churros to a Restaurant in Uptown New Orleans | Eater New Orleans
"Originally a long‑loved New Orleans food truck that operated for 14 years, the new Uptown restaurant at 4920 Prytania Street expands that menu into a sunny Venezuelan café with vintage flair and a focus on arepas, empanadas, tacos, and churros. Founders Rachel and Benoit Angulo — who met while working at Commander's Palace and were inspired by the late‑night areperas in Benoit's native Caracas, located primarily on Calle de Hambre, or "Hunger Street" — greatly expanded the food‑truck menu, with particular care put into vegan and vegetarian options, Rachel Angulo tells Eater. Arepa varieties build on the bestseller El Pabellon (the arepa form of the Venezuelan national dish: brisket, sweet plantains, queso fresco, black beans, and crema), and include La Sifrina (grilled chicken, chihuahua cheese, roasted carrot, and cotija); La Llanera (a fried arepa with carne asada, guasacaca, and grilled queso fresco); El Puerco (pulled pork); La Reina Pepiada (classic Venezuelan avocado chicken salad); and an arepa with shrimp sofrito. There are four vegetarian arepas (two vegan, the other two easily made vegan) featuring black beans and sweet plantains; portobello mushrooms marinated like the carne asada; roasted cauliflower and carrot sofrito; and a seared tofu and avocado salad that Angulo says expertly mimics the Reina Pepiada. Empanadas come in seven varieties (three vegan), a pataconcito mini fried plantain sandwich appears on the sampler, and tacos are served three to an order. A build‑your‑own‑bowl offers many choices for base, meat, sauces, and extras such as roasted vegetables, maduros, yuca fries, and fried eggs. On accommodating diners with dietary needs, Angulo says she's "excited to be able to accommodate our gluten-free friends," noting that while the masa used for the arepas and empanadas was already gluten‑free on the truck, fryer oil had previously been shared with the churros; the restaurant has two fryers so items can be cooked separately. The only menu items that aren’t gluten‑free are the flour tortillas, dulce de leche bread pudding, and churros. Desserts include horchata ice cream made specially for the restaurant by Creole Creamery next door — "I figured it might take a few tries to get where it needed to be, but they got it right on the first try," says Angulo. The space, designed by Cicada with branding by Also Known As, features custom wallpaper incorporating imagery of the masa Harina P.A.N., a 2013 photograph of a food‑truck customer, Venezuelan soccer players, and more; Angulo says it was initially hard to let go of the original branding but is "so glad I let them figure out how it should evolve." The restaurant currently serves lunch and dinner daily from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; the liquor license has just come through, so tequila and rum cocktails, South American wines, and Mexican beers are on the way, and brunch will follow soon." - Clair Lorell
