A is for… Arepa
— noun —
ah-reh-pah
Eng: Arepa
A traditional staple made by mixing corn flour with water.
A typical dish from Colombia and Venezuela, made with corn flour that is fried until it is puffy and then fried again with an egg inside.
Get your hands on the best fritos in Cartagena.
Photo / Illustration courtesy: Cartagena Grafica
An ode to Her Majesty, the ‘arepa de huevo’ in Cartagena
One of Cartagena’s emblematic culinary treats, the humble arepa de huevo or egg arepa in English is made with a corn flour dough filled with fried egg. A double-dipping bit of genius, that’s breakfast to got. While the ingredients used to make this dish vary depending on where you go in Colombia, the ones made in Cartagena are gastronomic royalty.
The history of arepas dates back to the Spanish conquest in pre-Columbian times when indigenous groups harvested corn and made various preparations with it, considering it a gift from the gods. Its round shape and its crispy, crunchy shine -when fried hard- still make it look like a holy taste of sunshine.
The arepa is an everyday matter. Morning, noon, or night, locals and tourists love them for breakfast in a 5-star hotel in the Historic Center or as a snack accompanied by Kola Roman in any Fritanga, the name for a fried food hotspot, before heading home on the bus.
While neighbours Venezuela and Colombia argue about where the humble arepa originates, according to the Colombian Academy of Gastronomy, the arepa is deemed part of the country’s gastronomic heritage, with Colombia boasting the largest variety of arepas in the region. In total, there are about 75 varieties to taste your way through in Colombia, with Medellin claiming to be the world capital when it comes to different types.
Where to Try the Best Arepa de Huevo in Cartagena?
The big question, however, is where to find the best arepas in Cartagena? On the Caribbean coast, they serve something even more special, the tropical arepa de huevo - the deep-fried breakfast of champions.
Finding the authentic arepa de huevo requires patience, trial and error or better still follow your nose and sniff out the queues of fried food addicts found on strategic street corners. Some of the places you should have on your radar are:
Fritos La Mona
Kiosko El Bony
Dora at San Diego Plaza
These three places have faced the test of time and come up trumps day-after-day for its looks and sound: it must be crunchy and shiny as solid gold.
But the arepa isn’t just something you eat. Don’t be surprised to hear when walking down the streets if you hear people saying “Hey, no me voltes la arepa” which translates to don't change the subject or don’t turn back at me what I just said. Locals also use the word as slang to label lesbians. They call them ‘areperas’ for anatomical reasons we won’t go into here.
If you get a little obsessed by them it’s worth working a trip to Cartagena into your schedule for the end of January when there’s a festival dedicated to finding the city’s finest purveyors of fried food. The Festival del Frito or Fried Food Festival is held at the beginning of each year as part of the Candelaria festivities and the main dish is... surprise! surprise! the arepa de huevo.
Of for an extra dose of autheniticity, just an hour from Cartagena is Luruaco, a small town recognized as the pioneer of this fried delight.
In fact, some consider that the arepa had its origins here and then expanded to nearby places. The Arepa de Huevo Festival is held there every year in mid-June and gathers hundreds of hungry people.
The kitchen matrons, elderly women from Caribbean towns, are the ones who cook and also, are in charge of preserving the tradition of this dish and others.
Arepas have evolved. More ingredients have been added to the original recipe, some may include cheese or meat, so there are many options to choose from. However, it's all fun and games until we realize that there is a risk called generational replacement. Luckily, we have something called the Internet.
A quick search online will show so many different ways of cooking your own arepa. Tulio Recomienda, a colombian food influencer, shows tricks for the perfect arepa at home on YouTube. Los del ÑAM! also teach you another tutorial and if you’re looking for the recipe of the typical Cartagenian arepa, this video will guide you. Just remember to do it with love, quality and sabor.
Dive Deeper.
Aja Chechi Masterclass.
Festival del Frito / Fried Food Festival
Love Arepas? Get your gear here!
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Cartagena may not be Colombia’s cuisine capital (that title goes to Bogota with 5 of Latin America’s top 50 restaurants) it is, however, a Caribbean powerhouse when it comes to eating out.