Cachapas y Mas

When a restaurant is named for a particular dish, as is the case at Cachapas y Mas in Inwood, one has to try it, lest one go away with a less than full experience. One would also be wise to avoid referring to oneself in the third person, lest one enjoys eating alone.

The cachapas is a Venezuelan version of a sandwich: two baby corn cakes, fried in soybean oil, with a whole mass of fixings in the middle (spicy chorizo and veggies, for us). The "y mas" in this equation includes arepas and patacones, another type of sandwich, with fried plantains as anchors. Stuffed with goodies like fried cheese, thin-sliced ham, shredded chicken, and slow-roasted pork, they make a good case that the restaurant should call itself Delicioso and leave it at that. Everything is made to order (expect to wait), then wrapped in tinfoil. Learn from our mistake, and keep the this shiny wrapper snug around whatever sandwich you choose, as these are squirty, messy beasts, the size of a dinner plate.