As soon as you exit the No. 7 train at 74th St. in Queens, sounds of vendors hustling matched with smells of international street food permeate. It’s the quickest way to transport to nearly anywhere in the world without ever leaving New York City. Home to dozens of languages and cuisines, Jackson Heights has frequently been deemed one of the most ethnically diverse neighborhoods on the planet. Of all of the countries and ethnicities represented, the Colombian community is among the most prominent, and of all of the Colombian eateries in the area, none is quite as spectacular as Arepa Lady.
Like many Jackson Heights denizens, Arepa Lady has an immigrant-focused back story. Maria Cano, hailing from La Estrella, Colombia, was a lawyer, judge and one of the founders of the Universidad Autonoma de Medellin back home. As a single mother of four, she had to hustle to make ends meet. This mindset led her to Jackson Heights where, in 1990, she ran a food cart, serving up the golden, cheesy arepas that could, at the time, only be found back home in Colombia.
The cart didn’t have a name, but she became well known throughout the neighborhood as the “arepa lady,” serving up Colombian street food from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. nightly. In compliance with the law, she applied to get a food cart vendor permit and ended up on a 15-year waitlist. The permit was only valid from March to October when she was finally approved. Knowing that being open only half the year wouldn’t cut it, she moved to transform her business to a brick-and-mortar shop in 2014. When it came time to name the eatery, Arepa Lady was the only name that made sense.
Now, patrons can visit this Colombian staple on 37th Ave. for some of the best arepas and patacones in the city. Arepas are separated into four categories, the most common being either arepa de choclo (corn arepas) or arepa de queso (cheese arepas), and gluten-free options including arepa rellena (which is a typical Venezuelan style of arepas) and arepa de tela (a thin, crispy, corn-based arepa).
Each arepa has a filling like cheese, chorizo, chicharron, sirloin, chicken, carne desmechada or a combination. Aside from the abundance of arepas, the restaurant also serves those same fillings in patacones — a sandwich style dish made with plantains.
When I finally had the chance to visit Arepa Lady’s Jackson Heights location — there are now three stores in the city — I ordered the works: arepa de choclo con queso; arepa de queso con queso (cheese on cheese is never a bad idea); patacon con carne desmechada (shredded beef); arepa de choclo con chorizo; and arepa de queso con pollo. A trio of sauces came out with my massive meal: a ketchup/mayo mix, a pineapple sauce, and a garlic sauce.
I dug into each, dousing them in a mix of all of the sauces, which is a 10-out-of-10 recommendation. The arepa de choclo was soft, slightly sweet, and slightly nutty. It’s hard to not love a cheese arepa with extra cheese, especially when paired with that bright, punchy garlic sauce. But surprisingly, one of my favorite bites was the patacon with carne desmechada, a thin, crispy plantain-based sandwich loaded with shredded beef. It’s a pleasant blend of textures, crispy from those thin plantains in lieu of bread, juicy from that succulent beef, with a slight chew as one expects when eating beef.
Paired with a fresh jugo de maracuya, or fresh passion fruit juice, it certainly made for one of the better lunches I’ve had in a while, and I can wholeheartedly understand why Arepa Lady attracted so many late night patrons back in the day. Despite being stone-cold sober for my visit, I can imagine Arepa Lady being a great postbar stop. If you want to find out for yourself, order one of their passion fruit, red, or strawberry sangrias or a frozen mango marg.
Address: 77-17 37th Ave, Queens, NY 11372
(Additional locations at 34-39 31st St, Queens, NY 11106 and in DeKalb Market Hall at 445 Gold St, Brooklyn, NY 11201)
Phone: (917) 745-1111
Hours: Sunday-Thursday 12 p.m. to 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday 12 p.m. to 11 p.m.
Prices: Small plates $2 to $28; arepas $6 to $12; patacones $10 to $12; sides $3 to $6; fresh juices $4.50; alcoholic beverages $4 to $30
Takeout and delivery available, no reservations
Have a suggestion for a great hidden dining gem in your neighborhood? Reach out to Kaitlyn with your recommendations at nomannomad.net@gmail.com.
