El Pilon - Columbian Food - SW 2nd between Oak and Stark

Another new occupant at the pod on SW 2nd Ave between Oak and Stark, "El Pilon" has occupied the former home of Thai Tea Clean Food Good Taste.

They offer Arepas, Empanadas, and Patacones, with vegetarian and meat options.

While I was waiting for my chicken and cheese Arepas, they handed me two Patacones, which are twice-fried green plantains (Tostones, as I'd previously been introduced to them) and some delicious salsa. They were trying to get on my good side, apparently, as I love these crispy fried patties of goodness.

A few minutes later, the Arepa was presented, with two different salsas. I'd had Arepas before from a cart that has since departed, which was Venezuelan cuisine, and had come to expect them to be small and served in pairs. This was served as one large Arepa, with semi-sealed edges (kind of like a pita pocket, but with a much thicker and tastier corn-based shell.)
It was quite tasty, I must say, and went down pretty fast. I might have been able to eat a second one. They provided a plastic fork, but it wasn't really strong enough to cut through the shell, so I just ended up using my hands. It was a bit messy, I went through about five napkins while eating it...
I'm sure I'll be back to try out the other menu items, the prices are reasonable (everything is under $5) and, of course, the fried plantains are a guilty pleasure of mine I find hard to avoid when I know where to find them.