Well, not every item on the menu is gluten-free, but, they offer lots of options for those of us out there who need to avoid wheat. We started with the yoyos, fried sweet plaintain balls stuffed with white cheese. These came with a sweet dipping sauce. These little delights were just that....delightful. The dough was warm and chewy, and the white cheese added a great kick to the sweet plaintain center. And, great as the dipping sauce was, they went even better with the spicy sauce that sits on every table.
Not sure if these are actually gluten free but...man, were they good! On to our arepas. We both ordered our favorite, the De Pabellon: shredded beef, black beans, white salty cheese and sweet plantains, in a spicy, rich sauce. Not only do the savory/sweet flavors in this arepa blend perfectly, the texture of the soft plaintains, beans and beef and goes great with the soft interior and chewy shell of the arepa:
Since we were in the neighborhood, off we went in pursuit of more gluten-free goodies at Tu-lu's, also in the East Village. After my first visit was such a success, I just HAD to try the cupcakes. Thankfully for an indecisive, cash-strapped glutton like me, these little numbers come in miniature size, which go for just $1.25 each.
I sampled the chocolate with peanut butter frosting, red velvet with cream cheese frosting (to-die-for!), vanilla with strawberry frosting (a moist, corn muffin-like cake, and the frosting was...divine), and chocolate with chocolate buttercream frosting. I am pretty picky when it comes to cupcakes and frosting, but each and every one of these was moist and rich, but cakey enough. I couldn't tell at all that they were gluten-free! Both the cream cheese and the buttercream frostings were creamy and well-balanced, with the perfect amount of sweet. And look how cute!!:
Whether you are gluten-free or not, both Caracas and Tu-lu's are musts...delicious AND nutritious!
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