Colombian restaurant Arepalicious Express opens in Rockville Centre

On a Rockville Centre street lined with American flags and taco joints, a Latino eatery is turning out some rockin' arepas. 

The storefront has a catchy name: Arepalicious Express. It's actually the second location for brand, which is based in Ozone Park, Queens. With a name like that you'd expect to find the South American corn cakes stuffed with shredded beef pabellón or roasted pork pernil. But instead, the photographic menu showcases funky looking hamburgers and hot dogs with pineapple sauce, meat lovers' bandeja paisa platters and bean stews topped with crispy fried chicharron. 

That's because Arepalicious Express is a Colombian restaurant, offering a different style of arepas than the common Venezuelan variety. They don't arrive looking like sandwiches, stuffed with large hunks of shredded meat or saucy black beans. They are softer and showcase the sweetness of the corn; thick pancakes with a gooey center of mozzarella cheese. Ingredients are piled on top in a flurry of meats and pink sauce. 

Co-owner Danny Atehortua makes the arepas from scratch, boiling and grinding his own corn to prepare the masa. Born in Medellin, Colombia, he moved to the U.S. with his family at the age of 12 and worked his first job as a deckhand on the Staten Island Ferry taking people to see the Statue of Liberty. Atehortua and his wife Shirley, who hails from Bogota, opened their first Arepalicious together in 2018. 

For such a small spot, the Rockville Centre menu is surprisingly large and the same as the flagship location. A mini arepa sampler ($13.50) is a nice way to start with compact versions of the shredded chicken, beef and guacamole arepas. Word to the wise: On a recent visit, the kitchen was generous with the Colombian salsa rosada, squirting it on almost every dish. If you're not too into sweet stuff, ask them to go easy on the pink sauce. You're going to want to taste those arepas ($9.50-$16 each).  You can also order an "arepacone," which looks like a portable taco with an arepa wrapped around the meats.

Soft plantains make an appearance in most of the dishes, offering their lush caramely flavor, blurring the line between sweet and savory. There are even plantain canoes, which skip the arepa altogether and use the syrupy plantain as a bun of sorts, with shredded meats stuffed into the center.  But another item might catch your eye: On the top center of the foldout menu, there's a picture of a hearty bean "cazuela" that looks like it's finished with dried potato sticks.

It turns out they're dried plantain sticks, and you'd be right to order them because this dish is amazing. The beans are just so plump and saucy, with huge chunks of deep fried pork skin with its fat that just melts into the stew. Colombia goes all out with its food and its music, and this is no exception. In the artist's hands, even a simple corn pancake or a bowl of frijoles becomes a smash hit. 

Arepalicious Express, 182b Maple Ave., Rockville Centre, 516-600-9499, arepaliciousexpress.com. Open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday through Monday. Closed Tuesday. 

By Andi Berlin

andi.berlin@newsday.comAndiBerlin

Andi Berlin is from Arizona and does not know where she is going. But when she gets there, she’ll find something beautiful and delicious that the world needs to taste.