After searching out a rare-as-hens-teeth street parking spot, head toward the train station past…read morestreet art, funky shops and dessert bars until you see Candela, the "firey" mascot which signals that you have reached your destination.
Candela is a hole in the wall diner with three or four small tables, and thoughtfully packaged take away.
On entry you will be welcomed with a smile by chef and owner Nela Ramirez, who is very helpful, explaining the menu and guiding your selection. Carlos Benitez, the other co-owner and chef, is busy preparing meals in the kitchen.
The first selection I made, was a signature arepa.
White cornmeal is mixed with flour (gluten free!), shaped into a thick discs, and then grilled on a flat plate until crispy on the outside.
In Venuzuelan style, the arepa is then split through the middle to create a little pocket which is then stuffed with filling.
Veg Fiesta ($7.50) is filled with black beans and optional shredded cheese and chipotle mayo. It is hot all the way through, soft and yielding in the middle and firm but not crunchy on the outside. It was a little starchy for me, and I wished I had bought a jar of the house made chimichurri sauce ($12) to liven up the flavours. It's not very big, about the same size as a single soft taco, so I was glad I got a few more things.
The Caribbean style empanada, "Empanadas Caribeno Queso" ($4.50) was different to the flour pastry type empanadas I'm more familiar with.
Again it used the white cornmeal, made into a thick half moon shape, stuffed with feta cheese in the middle. It was smaller than the arepa, but tasted largely the same, though I think this one was deep fried rather than grilled on the flat plate like the arepa.
I normally avoid friend foods so this after the arepa felt a little heavy for me. Afterwards I felt the same as when I eat a plate of polenta chips. For me it's definitely "occasional" food.
Next time I would opt for the El Vegano, a vegan taco, or the Veg Trío meal plate with two mini arepa breads, rice, black beans and veggies, with a serve of the tasty Quinoa or Heart of Palm salads of the day.
I also tried "Golfeados", Venezuelan sweet rolls. What makes them special is "papelón" for sweetening, a by-product of sugar cane processing, and "queso blanco", a salty white cheese. The two special ingredients are rolled inside an anise-flavored sweet roll dough, then baked, drizzled with more syrup made from the papelón, and sprinkled with more of the grated white cheese.
It was a perfect sweet-salty treat, like a grown up version of a coffee scroll. I particularly loved the salty white cheese, which is what they use a lot in the US with Mexican cooking.
With a dessert like that, and the enticement of lighter but still signature regional dishes, it certainly warrants a long overdue repeat visit!
