Intern Ashleigh reviews her first downtown lunch spot, Arepa City:
Looking to kick up your lunch hour a notch? Stop by Arepa City. A coworker and I decided to take the plunge into their Venezuelan-style cuisine during our lunch hour a few weeks ago. A friend of mine had suggested the cheerful looking restaurant for its affordable lunches (remember I’m in college, so if I say it’s affordable, it really is) and its delicious claim to fame: arepas. For anyone who is not familiar with Venezuelan food, an arepa is a traditional dish made from ground corn dough. The dish I chose – the Reina Pepiada – packed just enough flavor into a proportion perfect for a quick lunch break.
The best part about Arepa City: the menu. I didn’t find it intimidating at all! I hate going to an exciting new restaurant with novel cuisine and having to ask the wait staff to hold my hand and walk me through every detail of each dish – I feel like I'm wasting their time and that I should have paid more attention in my foreign language classes. Arepa City saved their customers and their very friendly staff a lot of time by having a detailed description next to the traditional name. By the end of my delicious meal, I felt adventurous for trying a new dish, one customary in other cultures, but comfortable enough that I didn't feel like a babbling idiot when trying to pronounce the name of the dish I was ordering, it was just enough adventure. Make sure to stop by this Second Street Restaurant to add a little spontaneity to your lunch – you can eat that yogurt and power bar tomorrow.
Arepa City
316 N. Second St., Harrisburg
717-233-3332
BYOB
Lunch Menu :: Dinner Menu :: Late Night Menu
Open late Fridays & Saturdays 10 p.m. to 3 a.m. for the late-night crowd.
Review by Intern Ashleigh.
