Taking a Bite of Colombia at ArePa George
Chicago’s Humboldt Park neighborhood is strongly associated with the Puerto Rican community. Indeed there is much food to explore from the Caribbean, yet I will be discussing food from the developing Colombian community in Chicago. Towards the north of Humboldt Park is ArePA George. Started by in 2017 by the Bentancourt siblings, ArePa George aims to bring the taste of Colombia to Chicago in a manner palatable to everyone, including vegan and gluten free options.
Before stepping in, one can already sense the vibration from inside the restaurant. Popular Colombian music plays throughout the place and can be heard immediately from the outside. Once inside, you will be kindly greeted by the host and be given the choice to sit either indoors or on the outside tables. You can look around to find photos and decorations reminding one of Colombia’s colorful culture. Once you take seat, the menu options provide a broad selection of typical dishes from across the the country like the various types of Arepas, Bandeja Paisa, Empanadas and much more.
For my review, I ordered the Ropa Vieja Arepa, Choripapas, and lulo juice. Typically, Ropa Vieja is made out of juicy, shredded beef and placed on a plate. Instead of being served solely on a plate, the beef was stuff into an arepa with a cape of cheese over it and some the opted extra avocado as a finishing touch. Like a typical Roba Vieja, the meat was moist and oozed with juice. The flavor of the meat had some body, as clearly the meat had been soaked with garlic, pepper, and probably onion. Despite the look, the meat is not spicy but rather hearty with a reasonable level of intensity. The result is a dish tastes best when you need fill up your heart as well as your stomach.
As the name suggests, the Choripapas are a mixture of sliced sausage and potatoes. I poured a bit of spicy sauce to see how it would mix with flavor of the dish. The sausage was bold but not overtly salty nor burned. Similarly, the potato pieces were cooked for a measured period time to avoid over heating. Keeping this in mind, the two ingredients go hand in hand as far as body goes, but the lack of seasoning blends the two a bit too much as far as how they feel to the palate. That is not to say the taste is poor . The dish is prepared competently but could have been much a better with a bit more differentiation between the body of the sausage and potatoes , which was evident even with the sauce.
Finally, and probably the most interesting item of the day was the lulo juice. Lulo is like a type of orange that mostly grows in areas of Perú, Colombia, Ecuador and a few other places in Central America. It is not a fruit one can easily find in their local supermarket or Whole Foods. With that being said, the first sip of the lulo juice was a pleasant surprise. The taste is tangy and sour but refined. The foam texture and polished acidity provide a clean and enjoyable refreshment. It is like combining a lime and orange but unsweetened and a clean, controlled astringency. Because of its elegant uniqueness, the lulo juice was questionably the highlight of the meal.
ArePa George sets out to bring the taste of Colombia to the the United States and does so reasonably well. The menu should appeal to fellow Colombians and for first time Chicago tasters. They say that good food can make you travel anywhere. In this case, it will be a worthwhile experience to take a small trip down to ArepaGeorge and get a glimpse of what Colombian food can offer.
