When Mary Ann Allen opened her Latin American restaurant Arepa TX, she was surprised by the reactions.
One customer called her food “too exotic.” Some Venezuelans, who grew up eating arepas, thought the menu wasn’t authentic, Allen recalls. The Bolivian-raised chef has a love for Latin American food, she says, but wanted to put her own twist on arepa -- one that might be enjoyed by people of all ethnicities in Dallas.
“We thought, ‘Let’s bring something different and healthy to Dallas,’” she says.
To her point, Dallas has dozens of taquerias but arepas are harder to find. In New York City and San Francisco, the arepa has grown in popularity, with dozens of dedicated shops in each city. But in Dallas, there’s still a lot of educating Allen has to do.
“We get asked ‘what’s an arepa?’ We still have to explain a lot to people. It’s an education process,” Allen says.
To simplify, she describes it as a sandwich stuffed with meat, sauce and veggies. The arepa is made from a dough of corn flour, water and salt. It’s grilled: crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. It requires making the dough fresh, every day.
Before getting into the restaurant business, Allen was a successful YouTuber known as the Frugal Chef. Her videos have been viewed 25 million times since 2008, according to YouTube. She started hosting videos after the recession, saying she wanted to help people eat healthily even during financial hardships.
Allen is also a world traveler who moved to Texas to be closer to her family and grandkids. Her son and daughter-in-law also work at Arepa TX, which they first opened in Frisco before moving to their Dallas location six months ago.
The restaurant leans on several regions for inspiration. The smoked brisket arepa with chimichurri sauce, a customer favorite, she says, is Texas inspired. The chicken bánh-mì arepa takes inspiration from Vietnamese cuisine. And her carne mechada arepa is a favorite among Venezuelan expats looking for a slice of home: slow-cooked shredded beef, seasoned with a sofrito of leeks, onion and garlic and topped with cheese.
“When I was doing the menu, I wanted it to be friendly for everybody,” she said. Her daughter-in-law and co-owner, Susana Arce, was her chief taste consultant.
“We ate arepas for six months straight,” she said. “Every day it was: ‘Taste this! How’s this?’”
Arepas are priced at $7.50. Most of the menu is gluten free and includes vegetarian and vegan-friendly options.
In addition to food, the family has worked to make Arepa TX a community and cultural center by donating 10 percent of proceeds to buying supplies for needy people in Venezuela. Arepa TX also hosts events for moms and cooking lessons.
Arepa TX is located at 5940 Royal Lane, Dallas.
