if you like empanadas...and getting lost in the sun...El Arepazo is the one...

As luck...or fate would have it Betty and I finally made it down to Pearl Market to check out Nellie's Samosas...as we got up to make our order -- the ladies running the stand told us they just sold out. Go figure. I was slightly irked because I've heard a lot about these samosas and I wanted to put their flavor to the test...but not today. The trials and tribulations of samosa searching in Columbus will have to be put on hold. As we trekked around the market we noticed a Venezuelan restaurant with a patio El Arepazo. We ventured into the spot and were excited to see empanadas on the menu reasonably priced at $4.75 Betty and I went back and forth as we waited in-line trying to figure out if we should order 1 or 2. We decided to go with one with the understanding we'd probably grab some more food later on our walk back to comfest. We ordered the combination empanada and a side of their spicy cilantro sauce. After we ordered -- we were advised to go outside to wait for our food as traffic back-up in the lines was causing a bottleneck for the wait staff. No problem -- we located an open covered picnic table to park our bear rumps until our order came up. It seemed to take about 10 minutes which was no biggie and we received our order in a paper bag. When I pawed into the bag i was shocked to see the magnitude of the empanada. This thing was hugonda. A huge deep-fried-crispy-corn-flour hot pocket was my initial reaction. We split the empanada in half and the cross section view of this empanada was a thing of beauty and mystery...and out of focus-ness...


surveilance aerial footage of empanada


out of focus cross section

The empanada was phenomenal. The cilantro sauce was tasty. I can't see many places who can top this taste with the right price. We were stuffed splitting just one. Now the empanada was tasty -- it was fried to perfection and the corn shell crust was mighty fine -- but after my carb-cheese buzz subsided slightly I did comment that there could be some more seasoning added to the ingredients in the empanada. Betty and I need to do some more tasting research at El Arepazo considering they have crab cakes and fish burritos. This massive empanada put a world of flavor in my tummy for not a lot of money. What's messing with this?