30 APRIL 11, 2019 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
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Back in the day, it was quite
a quest to find the Arepa Lady,
a smiling angel serving up
gooey Colombian corn cakes
enriched with salty quesillo
cheese.
I usually started my mission
around 10 p.m. My fellow
Queens food adventurers
and I knew she’d be under the
rumbling 7 train on Roosevelt
Avenue in the vicinity of
82nd Street, often in front of
a nightclub, but were never
quite sure which one. For
there were other vendors selling
this classic Colombian
street food, and we wanted to
be sure we were at the stand
run by what Jim Leff, founder
of the foodie internet message
board Chowhound, called the
Sainted Arepa Lady.
The now septuagenarian
Arepa Lady wasn’t always
known by that moniker.
Maria Piedad Cano immigrated
to the United States in
the 1980s from Medellin, Colombia,
where she served as
an administrative judge. Seeking
a way to support her family,
she learned how to make
the griddled corn cakes from
a friend.
For 30 years this the O.G. —
which in this case stands for
original grandma — sold her
salty, sweet, cheesy treats to
revelers and food nerds alike.
The stand was once even nominated
for a Vendy Award.
In the summer of 2014, the
Arepa Lady’s family, spearheaded
by her son Alejandro
Osorio, returned the favor by
opening a restaurant — Areperia
Arepa Lady — on 77th
Street, not far from her original
food cart.
Osorio and his crew expanded
the menu beyond the
two classic corn cakes: the
golden yellow corn arepa de
choclo, made with fresh
kernels, a semicircle
enclosing salty quesillo
cheese, and
the white arepa de
queso made with
corn flour, to include
varieties
stuffed with various
meats. Some
might argue that
such additions are
gilding the griddled lily.
After all, there’s a whole
roster of sauces to add to
the corn cakes, including
pineapple; green-tinged garlic;
and leche condensada, a
thick, sweet condensed milk
that’s perfect for the rich
arepa de queso.
For a short
time, the family
closed Areperia
Arepa Lady,
but thankfully
they found a
new location
on 37th Avenue,
where the
walls are decorated
with pictures
of this beatific
patron saint of Colombian
street food plying her wares
on Roosevelt Avenue.
Although Cano is semi-retired,
“she comes at, like, 5 in
the morning to make arepas,”
says Osorio, and sometimes
she returns in the evening. “I
can’t tell her no. Her name is
on the door.”
I’m so glad that this classic
Colombian Queens street food
will be featured at the World’s
Fare. It’s one of many international
flavors to be found in
Queens that turned me into
the food writer that I am today.
See you at the Fare!
Joe DiStefano, a Queensbased
food writer, culinary
tour guide, and author of
the bestselling guidebook
“111 Places in Queens That
You Must Not Miss.”
Catch the Arepa Lady at the
World’s Fare at Citi Field (123-
01 Roosevelt Ave. in Queens,
https://theworldsfare.nyc) on
May 18 and 19 from 12 to 8 p.m.
Tickets from $19 to $199 (children
under 10, $5).
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As the Culinary King of Queens, I’m so very fortunate to live in the most diverse and delicious destination in all of New York
City. And I’m even luckier to be a tastemaker for the World’s Fare, a celebration of global cuisine and culture, which will be
held on May 18 and 19 at Citi Field. In the weeks leading up to the Fare, I’ll be profiling some of my favorite vendors from
Queens and beyond. Today, a look at the Arepa Lady, the crown jewel of Colombian street food, which is returning for the
second year.
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19
Buy Tickets AttheworldSfare.nyc
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CITI FIELD
MAY 18 & 19, 2019
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