Arepa

It's summer and I am stuck in a lunch rut. Arbuckle Dining at the GSB did not bring back the much-loved every-other-week build-your-own pasta station from last summer. There are fewer on-campus eateries open, and the ones that are available are usually overrun by campers and summer conference participants.

So it seemed a good time to try one of the Venezuelan specialties from Coupa's GSB location: an arepa with fresh white cheese, black beans, and nata.

This is only the second time I've ever had an arepa, which for those not in the know is a stuffed corn-based griddle cake. The first time was actually in Venezuela, on a school trip in high school. I don't remember much about it; I was a 14 year old white kid from northern New York, which is to say that I knew nothing about food.

The Coupa arepa was crispier than I expected. A visit to Wikipedia's arepa page leads me to suspect that Coupa uses the waffle iron-esque Toasty Arepa in their kitchen; mine had that same almost too perfect round shape. It was tasty; a bit bland, which was not a problem for me (am currently trying to fix a chronic heartburn problem, so bland is good) but others might prefer more flavorful filling options like sun-dried tomatoes or shredded beef stew.

The menu said that arepas take 10-15 minutes to prepare. When I ordered, I was told the wait would be 15 minutes. It took closer to 25 for my arepa to finally make an appearance. Coupa has many virtues, but it's not the place to go if you're in a hurry.