El Rincon de Fabio

You're at El Rincon de Fabio for some of Chicago's best arepas. And if you decide to focus on anything else while you're here, there’s also a fluffy cachapa, and a patacon that deserves an Oscar for best performance in textures. In fact, the Venezuelan food at this charming Uptown spot is so compelling, you’ll look past any potential sensory overload.

photo credit: Kim Kovacik

photo credit: Kim Kovacik

photo credit: Kim Kovacik

It’s easy to get overwhelmed by El Rincon’s flashing neon lights, butterfly decals, TVs playing concerts, and the variety of dishes on the long menu—including tacos, bowls, and Venezuelan snacks. Instead, just focus on the house specials and arepas. All the arepas come on thick, grilled dough and have plenty of fillings to choose from. But the standouts are the la veguera stuffed with pieces of steak, and the pabellón criollo, which is Venezuela’s national dish in arepa form. Regardless of what you order, the combination of fillings, cheeses, and homemade sauces that El Rincon has curated will distract you from thinking about the time you ended a work call with "love you."

photo credit: Kim Kovacik

The arepas aren’t the only options capable of instigating an existential crisis. It’s possible to spend seven minutes debating the merits of forgoing the cachapa for a patacon, and whether you need a side order of tequeños (you do). But count on getting some help from the people who work at El Rincon. They’ll provide as much guidance as necessary and even throw in some tips on the best way to reheat your leftovers. FYI, an air fryer or oven is acceptable, using a microwave is blasphemy.

El Rincon’s food should be eaten right away for optimum enjoyment, so our only complaint is that the small dining room (there’s just a handful of card tables and folding chairs) doesn’t always guarantee a seat. And make sure to ask for extra napkins because mess is unavoidable—whether from hastily gobbling down the cachapa, or because of the pulled pork juice running out of the serving basket. Either way, you won’t care. The food is too good and the service too friendly to be upset about anything.

Food Rundown

Chicken Empanada

Get this to share, or as part of the Venezuelan Taste sampler. It has a crispy crust and a doughy interior packed with shredded chicken. Take advantage of the squeeze bottles on each table, which are filled with a delicious housemade green hot sauce.

photo credit: Kim Kovacik

Tequeños

Is there anything more satisfying than cheese wrapped in dough and fried? Maybe, but we haven’t found it yet.

photo credit: Kim Kovacik

Pork Patacon

The patacon is a house specialty and deserves a lifetime achievement award for texture. The plantains are fried to the ideal level of crispiness, and when combined with soft shredded pork (our favorite filling), fresh slaw, and hot sauce, you have a perfect bite of food. They serve a smaller version in the sampler.

photo credit: Kim Kovacik

Pabellón Criollo Arepa

This is Venezuela’s national dish—pabellón criollo—as an arepa. Here, it gets layered with black beans, sweet plantains, shredded beef, sour cream, and a generous handful of queso blanco that melts with all the warm fillings.

La Veguera Arepa

This is the best arepa on the menu. The proportions are wonderfully balanced between the steak, fresh pico, chunky guasacaca, a tangy cilantro sauce we’d love to keep at our desks for a pick-me-up throughout the day.

Pork Cachapa

Another house specialty, you might mistake the sweet and savory cachapa for that Frette down comforter you’ll be able to afford when you’re 90. It’s so fluffy, you'll want to crawl in next to the tender chunks of pork and wrap yourself up in the corn pancake.