Tag Archives: Zaguan Latin Cafe

What Is an Arepa? A Dallas Guide to Venezuela’s Favorite Corn Cake

Ask a Venezuelan what they miss most about home, and the answer usually comes back fast. It is rarely a fancy dish. It is the arepa, the round, griddled corn cake that shows up at breakfast, lunch, after midnight and at every hour in between.

An arepa is corn flour, water and salt, patted into a disk about the size of a coaster and cooked on a flat griddle until the outside turns crisp. The inside stays soft and steamy. Split it open like an English muffin and stuff it with whatever the day calls for.

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Zaguán Has Been Feeding Oak Lawn Since 2002

Before Carlos Branger opened a restaurant, he threw dinner parties. He’d moved to Texas from the Andean region of Venezuela, near the Colombian border, and when friends came over he cooked the things he grew up eating — arepas stuffed with shredded beef, cachapas rolled off the griddle, queso blanco, the family recipes he’d carried north like a piece of luggage. The food disappeared before the evening did, and people kept asking where they could get more of it.

Dallas had Tex-Mex on every corner and excellent taquerias in every neighborhood, but the food of Venezuela, Colombia, Argentina, and the Caribbean islands was essentially nowhere. On May 9, 2002, Branger opened Zaguán Latin Café and Bakery at 2604 Oak Lawn Avenue, and the dinner party never really stopped.

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What’s Eating Your Phone?

phoneby Steven Doyle

Each week we ask the question, “What’s Eating Your Phone”? This is where we all can join in on the foodie fun and send in your latest dining photo that has you all jazzed. These are not necessarily limited to dining out, it can be from that last dinner party. And don’t think we discriminate against libations. Send in your favorite cocktail photo, too.

To be included in a future edition of What’s Eating Your Phone, send those photos to me at steven@cravedfw.com.  A brief description and location would be super helpful. Here are this week’s selections:   Continue reading →

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Friday’s Five Fabulous Food Finds

by Steven Doyle

This week we pay homage to brunch in Dallas in this week’s edition of Friday’s Five Fabulous Food Finds. Each week we venture out into the naked city in search of a delicious meal to mention on craveDFW, and we are pleased to share each lovely bite with our readers.     Continue reading →

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Filed under Brunch, Crave, Friday’s Five Fabulous Food Finds of the Week, fun with food, Steven Doyle