Arepas and Empanadas from Pomarosa

After our delicious meal from Somun Superstar, we decided to try out Pomarosa, a Venezuelan restaurant on the Danforth just West of Coxwell. Being a frequent shopper at Bare Market, a zero waste grocery store on the Danforth, I pass by Pomarosa on a pretty regular basis and it perpetually smells incredible. Pomarosa has also recently signed up on MySuppli, a zero waste take out service that popped up in East Toronto during COVID-19.

Arepas, found in both Colombia and Venezuela, are made from corn dough. Unlike the Colombian arepa, which is often served plain with salt and butter or stuffed with cheese, the Venezuelan arepa is stuffed with different ingredients, including meats, cheeses, avocados, etc.

Pomarosa has eight options for arepas, ranging from a delicious-looking breakfast situation to pulled beef and everything in between. B, being the biggest breakfast lover, obviously went for the breakfast arepa which was stuffed with scrambled eggs, cheese, chorizo and pico de gallo. I went with the vegan version of the Flores, which was stuffed with hibiscus flowers and cauliflower picadillo, avocado and a plant-based citrus crema.

Seeing the recently added empanadas on the menu, I convinced B that we had to get the caraotas and platano (black bean + plantain) empanada and he had to try the cheese and guava empanada. Not having known each other when I lived in Brazil, B was not privy to the outlandishly popular cheese and guava pairing and was a bit skeptical.

We ordered this meal still in the face of my reluctancy to start a blog, but even with my cell phone photo and bad light you can see that these arepas were stuffed. B's breakfast empanada had was scrumptiously stuffed. The chorizo was cooked perfectly and the avocado aioli was so delicious that he was licking it out of the container. The empanada surprised him, it was the first time trying the pairing and despite his reluctance to eat fruit, even he agreed that they go perfectly together and the empanada was crispy.

I was a little less blown away with my meal. The Flores arepa was delicious; don't get me wrong, but the hibiscus was a bit overpowering. I also found the bean and plantain empanada to be a bit too heavy for my personal liking. I don't really know why I was expecting beans or plantains to somehow transform into a light dish, but it certainly felt denser than I wanted especially within the empanada.

Overall Rating: 8.25/10 (L - 7.5; B - 9)

Main Takeaway: With how amazing Pomarosa smells (and the fact that they use MySuppli), I have no doubt that we'll go again - I'll just order something different next time!