FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM OCTOBER 12, 2017 • BUZZ • THE QUEENS COURIER 93
dining out
Photo: Bridget Kenny/THE COURIER
Arepas eatery La Vecina
comes to Astoria
BY SEAN CURRY
“When I travel, I don’t book a hotel. I
book a car.”
Henry Mendez is sitting across the table
from me at Steinway Street’s newest off ering,
La Vecina, and explaining his explorer’s
approach to seeing the world. He’s a
lifelong entrepreneur, a born traveler and
an insatiably curious person.
“Th ere was one woman I met in
Colombia who stayed with me,” he said.
“She invited me into her house and just
cooked for us. I’ll never forget it.”
He’s referring to the namesake of La
Vecina, or “the neighbor,” a woman
he met while traveling through South
America who insisted he come to her
home and eat at her table with her family.
Until that moment, Mendez brought
profi ts to other people. From then on, he
had to bring the neighborly spirit of La
Vecina to his home borough of Queens
(being raised in Jackson Heights himself),
and when this real estate opened up, he
jumped on it within the day.
Mendez, a former business banker
turned purveyor of arepas (fried corn or
fl our pancakes with ingredients in or on
top of them), has poured everything he
has into this place. Th is fi rst foray into
the vecina spirit defi nitely feels South
American, from the upholstery to the art
to the enormous colorful splash of the
continent splayed across the wall at the
front of the restaurant.
First out of the kitchen was Mendez’s
yucca croquettes, a light, punchy, tangy
yucca root fried and served with a lemon
garlic dipping sauce. Th e panko crust was
delightfully crunchy and gave way to a
meaty, almost potato-like interior that
soaked in the sauce.
Next was a sweet plantain served with
queso fresco and Parmesan cheese, and
while it was certainly sweet, baking the
plantain brought out a certain depth that
I’ve only ever experienced when baking
sweet things. Th e cheese was incredible —
so much so that my sole complaint is that
there wasn’t more of it. I had never considered
pairing cheese and plantains, but
damn if it didn’t work.
To round out the appetizers, Mendez
brought out salchipapas, garlic fries with
sliced hot dogs, cilantro and Parmesan
cheese. While I’m certainly no stranger
to hot dogs and fries, this came together
beautifully. Along with its creamy, spicy
sauce, this would make for excellent latenight
fare.
I had a passion fruit juice that felt more
like a milkshake than a juice to cleanse my
palette, but the heat and my walk out to
the shop earned me a little extra calories,
so I wasn’t too upset about it. Besides,
it was time to make room for the main
courses.
Mendez’s chicarron special was out
next, avocado and chicken on sweet,
spongy arepas. Th e chicken, soft on the
inside with a thick skin, paired nicely with
the tangy slaw, and the green sauce helped
pull it all together.
Portobello mushroom on a white arepa
was out next, and I have to say, I was truly
surprised by it. Not just the robustness
of the mushroom, though portobellos will
never cease to amaze me, but by the unexpected
sweetness of the thing. Elements of
General Tso’s chicken came off this ‘shroom
along with savory notes of mustard.
Next was the ropa vieja, a pulled beef
arepa that was easily my favorite of the
night. Savory beef marinated for hours
mixed with sweet plantains over garlic
spinach topped with pico de gallo, and
the green sauce from the chicarron really
stood out here.
Finally, we rounded out our night with
sweet potato croquettes, lovely little fried
potato balls that were soft and fi lling, a
refreshingly diff erent take on fried potatoes.
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