Rika Arepa Express

Great food! Meat & cheese arepas and cheese empanadas were great. And the proper Venezuelan charisma is one of the main attractions as well. As a Venezuelan you’ll feel like home. If you’re not Venezuelan, you will enjoy a great example of our typical cuisine.

For me, Rika Arepa Express has _​almost_​come full circle in more ways than one.
The first time that I visited the former food truck was when they parked in front of Bad Beat Brewing. Their arepas tasted magical that evening. Tonight, they set up their tent outside of CraftHaus Brewery, just a few hundred feet away. The magic wasn’t completely back, but it was enough to bring my impression of Rika up from a mere 3.5 to a respectable 4.5.
I went back to my first love, the Pabellon ($ 6). It was very good! It still lacked the original Pabellon’s powerful plantain punch (perhaps pointing me toward a combo or side order next time), but the shredded beef was delicious, the arepa had a bit more crisp to it than on my previous Pabellon attempt, and the black beans and mozzarella did nothing but help. If I’m being quite honest, however, their creamy cilantro sauce almost makes or breaks their food. It was super addictive, and I recommend eating at or near the tent just to avoid running out of sauce. I ended up stepping out of my car twice during the course of dinner for sauce refills.
Their take on the Empanada ($ 2.50) was a hot, crispy shell fully surrounding the piping hot interior. They only had the shredded beef filling tonight, but it was great and went well with their sauce. Then again, I do suspect that a lot of things would go well with that sauce. Anyway, I wouldn’t mind trying the chicken or even the cheese variants in the future. It’s a good value for a hand-​sized (not just handheld) treat.
I’m cool with rounding my Rika rating up to 5 stars based on tonight’s experience. I didn’t expect them to come close to matching the original owners’ creations after the initial letdown, so I was pleasantly surprised. This meal was very satisfying, and the Pabellon was more memorable than the arepas that I’ve had elsewhere in town. I’m much more interested now in visiting their regular spot regularly and/​or pulling the trigger on a delivery order.

This was my second go at arepas, and I’m glad I gave them another shot! My first experience was okay, but I didn’t love them. This place however has me craving arepas!
I wasn’t starving so I decided to forgo the meat and try the vegan– black beans, avocado and plantains. YUM! This combination was amazing! And the 2 sauces were the perfect addition! While I was hoping for a less filling meal, this sandwich was packed full, so I was pretty stuffed when I was done. These things don’t look that big, but they’re quite deceiving!
Big thanks to Bad Beat for having them out in the parking lot. I hope this truck comes back to my neck of the woods soon so I can explore more of the menu!

Heard Rika was going to be at Bad Beat Brewing on 08÷09÷14 so we decided we DEFINITELY had to get down there. Rika’s not frequently in Henderson so we definitely had to take advantage.
This place is delicious. I ordered the shredded beef arepa and the chicken/​sausage arepa. Both were delicious. Served hot and with a side of fried plantains. The chicken/​sausage was my favorite. The arepa itself is slightly crispy on the outside which makes it a perfect little pocket for all those delicious fillings they put in there.
I have not been to the «other» arepa spot in town, but I’ve had Rika three times and can honestly say I frequently look at their calendar in hopes that they will be near me. Their drinks are delicious and the arepas are pretty close to perfect. The owners are also always very friendly and helpful.

Found the truck outside Bad Beat Brewing and ordered a delicious arepa to eat with my beer.
I wasn’t really sure what an arepa was, but food trucks more often than not hit the spot. However, now that I know what an arepa is, and how well Rika Arepa Express makes them, they can go ahead and park on my driveway. For Free. Seriously.
I think they’ve changed the menu items up, or at least the order of them, based on other pictures and reviews here, because I could have sworn I had a #1, but it was shredded beef with plantains, black beans, and cheese. And I did NOT regret my choice. So good. I think what makes these arepas are the plantains, so I highly suggest to pick one with that in it. You can also add some items for an additional charge, like avocado, if it doesn’t already come on your arepa.

I love this food truck, you have everything from great food to great costumer service! I like all the arepas but my favorite one is the one with chicken and some sausage and guacamole, sorry I forgot the name of it. Definitely one of the best gourmet food trucks out there, a must try! Thank you Rika arepa for bringing quality food to the streets!

Saw this food truck at the recent food truck festival, mentally bookmarked them to try at another time since they were local. Stumbled upon them in the parking lot of the gas station at Charleston and Decatur last night when I was prowling for a snack.
Service was friendly and helpful, suggesting their favorite arepas, asking if and how we’d heard of them, and letting us know they’d be in the space 6−11PM Thurs-​Saturday evenings.
Opted for the #1 and #2 with a blackberry juice.
Juice was a bit too sweet for my tastes, would try the mango on another visit.
The #1 (Pabellon: Black Beans, Shredded Beef, Sweet Plantains, and Mozzarella Cheese with Rika sauce) was a punch of flavor, with savory beef and the sweetness of the plantains, and I appreciated the texture contrast of the crispy corn patty and the creamy cheese.
The #2 (La Sureña: Grilled chicken and house made, no preservatives, smoked chorizo, avocado slices, along with Rika style Chimi-​churri sauce) was my BF’s favorite. The grilled chicken had a good charred flavor to it and combined with the avocado, reminded me of a fajita flavor. Sauce perfectly complemented the other ingredients, and the chorizo added a touch of saltiness, almost like bacon.
What I really need to say is that the flavors of the arepas here blew me away– I have gone to Viva Las Arepas and was underwhelmed, and keeping in mind this is a food truck, I was pleasantly overwhelmed!
Prices were fair (about $ 6 per arepa) and portions were giant– BF and I were unable ot finish, made a great breakfast in the morning.

Having had this business bookmarked for a while, I finally tracked them down at First Friday last month. I’m no expert with arepas, but thought the two I tried were excellent. At six dollars each, I thought they’d be on the smaller side, but after receiving them I began to wonder how I would finish them. I loved the interplay of savory and sweet in the Pabellon ($ 6). It was overflowing with black beans, shredded beef, sweet plantains, mozzarella, and cilantro sauce in a masa pocket. The Pernil ($ 6) was just as good with the pulled pork, black beans, cheese and guacamole providing salty, sweet, and savory notes throughout each bite. I tried to finish both but failed. Large portions, cheap prices, good eats… you can’t beat that.

I went back and I will say, they had everything on the menu available and it was all good! I am a happy camper and the arepas were hot, no need to reheat. The chicken was perfect and the sauces were just as delish! I can’t wait to go back. Now, I expect the same menu when I return, don’t play with my feelings like that. Check out their website to see where to find them.

So yummy and portions are large. Well worth the price. Jose is excellent and hospitable. They deserve patronage. Quality of food is amazing for a food truck. The sauce s are great in flavor and spice.

I can’t even handle how good this arepa is…
First of all: these guys are not hard to find.
Why not? Because if you look at their FB page it tells you exactly where they are going to be that day. Not hard.
Seriously that first time I tried them I tracked them Downtown and the arepa was sooo fresh and yummy that the bread had just been baked. Yes I was there at 10:30am waiting :)
It was sooo good that Tuesday morning that I took hubby to the Farmers Market at Town Center that night around 5pm and yep I got another one also. Still full from that morning and due to the size, I could only eat half, what a sin!
Super sweet customer service. They asked me how I knew about them and after I told them they said Amanda M. is an amazingly nice customer.
So far I have tried their passion fruit juice and their mango juice. Both are of course good but SUPER DUPER sweet, too sweet for me. I’m not a fan but you should try it yourself. They are def yummy.
I get only the #4 and never get tired of it. Warning this item is big, if you are not starving you might as well bring a friend to share it or cut it in half and try to save it for later? It’s such a good deal at $ 6 wow.
The cucumber yummy sauce is super good (the sando does not need the sauce) I dip chips in it sometimes. The red sauce is not my fav. I’m not a fan of chipotle or anything «smoky» tasting. Try it yourself you might like it.
There is not much else to say other than:
If you have not tried this place out… seriously you are missing out. I think it helped make my life a little more complete!
Thanks Amanda!

My first arepa ever. I’ve always wanted to try one just never got the chance. Holy cow sooo yum. The Pernil arepa was amazing and huge! Could barely finish one. Wish my tummy space was bigger so I could have another.

Where have I’ve been? Why did it take me so long to have arepas? These are just a few questions that I had to ask myself after I had my first bite of their Pabellon. A few weeks ago was my first time to try Rika Arepa Express and also my first time to have arepas. Because I have no comparison, Rika Arepa Express is as good as it gets.
So what’s the big deal? Lets start with the size of their Arepas. Their Pabellon (shredded beef, black beans, cheese, and plantains) is ginormous. The Pabellon is packed with about 3 oz of perfectly seasoned and shredded beef. There is no way you will be disappointed with this one if you’re a carnivore like me. Stuff black beans, the cheese, and plantains and it’s a match made in heaven. Although all of this is good on its own, it’s Rika’s arepas that makes this meal a big deal. The arepas is a flat bread made of corn and served warm with a little crunch to it. My goodness… I couldn’t wait to come back. I didn’t wait too long for round 2 and came back a few weeks later. This time I had their Pollo Asado (chicken, mozzarella, and their Rika Chimi-​churri sauce). The Pollo Asado was pretty good, but I thought it needed more meat. My opinion, the Pabellon was better. Lesson learned… I will stick with what I like.
Pabellon ($ 6.00):
Pollo Asado ($ 6.50):
Tip To Self: I love how their arepas are warm and crispy. I may even ask if they can keep it grilled a little longer for some extra crunch.
Unilocal PERSONAL CHALLENGE — (⁰²³⁄₃₆₆)

Que es la arepa? No se, until tonight, when we rushed over to the Las Vegas Farmer’s market at Bruce Trent Park, corner of Rampart and Vegas, to catch Rika before they closed at 6:30pm. By checking their website’s calendar, I saw they would be in my neck of the woods. I had the vegan arepa with avocado, black beans, and plantains — muy delicioso! Plantains make everything alright, IMHO. I tried the b/f’s Pabellon with shredded beef, black beans, plantains, and cheese-​wowza! We’re late to the arepa train, but we’re on it now. You should take a ride, too!
*Muchisimas gracias to Petra for the recommendation. That kid had good taste.

My first time having Arepas… I am now a HUGE fan!
Park this bad boy next to Fukuburger and watch all the mindless suckers wait in line for overpriced /​forgettable truck food. Not here at Rika!
I tried 4 different Arepas and wasn’t able to finish all 4 even sharing! Meaning, portions are large here and filling!
My favorite EASILY was the Pabellon ($ 6): Shredded Beef, Black Beans, Sweet Plantains and Cheese. It seriously was amazing! I love the combination of black beans and plantains… perfection!
Carne Guisada ($ 4.50): Stewed Shredded Beef. Everything was good, lots of juices in the Guisada. Yum! Prob my second fav :)
Pernil ($ 4): Roasted Pork with Tomato. Flavor was plentiful in the Pernil… hard to go wrong with roast pork!
Reina Pepiada ($ 4.50): Shredded Chicken Breast, Avocado, Green Peas, Mayo, and Parsley. This was good… kind of like a chicken salad like mix, but good!
BEST truck food I’ve had in a LONG while!
Pics:

Thanks to Amanda M. for leading me to this delicious truck. I ordered 2 arepas to try: the vegan and the pabellano.
The cashier actually let me try a sample since I was a first-​timer. I got to try a sizeable hunk of a chicken arepa. The vegan has black beans, sweet plantains and avocado. The pabellano has shredded beef, sweet plantains, black beans and cheese. I love avocado and plantains, so I had to get these 2.
My basket of arepas came with a spicy red salsa and a creamy cilantro sauce. I liked both, but the red one was perfect with both arepas. I liked both sauces on the pabellano. The pabellano was so warm, with tangy meat mixing with sweet plantain — the beans and cheese rounded out the dish. This one I will probably get every time, should Rika Arepa Express not always be on the opposite side of town.
The vegan was creamy with the avocado and had a ton of beans. Once again, plantains made it! This probably was the first time I had avocado and plantain flavors mixing together, but it worked. The prices were very reasonable ($ 5 for vegan and $ 6 for pabellano). Some of the arepas are $ 4ish, but I of course picked the specials (see my pic of specials on menu). Overall, yummy and filling. I look forward to the next time!

Thanks again to Amanda for finding this amazing food truck. It was worth leaving the gym early. The food was absolutely delicious, simple and cheap. Each arepa is about $ 4 – 4.50. It’s very filling.
The foodie partner and I made a deal to get 2 arepas each so we can share and sample as much food as we can. We got a #1 Reina Pepiada, #3 Pernil, #4 Carne Guisada and #11 Pabellano. The arepa itself is nice, warm and crisp. Muy delicioso!
Reina Pepiada:
Cold chicken breast, mayo, peas, avocado and parsley. It’s like a chicken salad in a corn flatbread (arepa). I don’t even like mayo and peas but I did damage on this one. The red sauce works great with this. ⁴⁄₅
Pernil:
Roasted pork and tomatoes. Tasty chunks of pork full of flavor. Add cilantro sauce and red sauce for more flavor. ⁵⁄₅
Carne Guisada:
Shredded beef stew. Super tender and juicy beef. Cilantro sauce works great. ⁵⁄₅
Pabellano:
Beans, fried plantains, cheese and shredded beef. It’s like the Carne Guisada arepa but packs a meaner punch and has more good stuff. I love fried plantains so I had to get this. You get that sweet, slightly caramelized banana… oh my. The best arepa!!! ⁵⁄₅
After placing your order, it only takes 7 – 10 minutes for your food to be ready. They also have juices: mango, pineapple and passion fruit. They take credit cards. You can stalk them on Facebook.

Rica, deliciosa, sabrosa… just a few fitting words to describe the arepas at Rika Arepa Express! I tracked down this Venezuelan food truck at the Downtown 3^rd Farmers Market on Friday and I was instantly impressed by the prompt, friendly service and flavors of the food that I tried. Thank you to my good friend Christie O. for spotting this truck at another local farmers market and mentioning it in a quick tip!
The picture menu featuring 9 filled arepas is easy to navigate. Each one costs $ 4.00 or $ 4.50. I ordered the Domino for myself and Reina Pepiada (creamy chicken and avocado salad) to bring home to my husband, and a passion fruit juice to drink. The addition of perfect, creamy avocado slices for $ 1 made the Domino even better, named after the contrast of the white mozzarella cheese and savory black beans. I could eat a whole bowl of the black beans; they are seasoned just the way I like them, with lots of cumin, and not overwhelmed by any other flavor. After my first bite, I remembered the red and green sauce included with my order and poured them over my following bites. I especially enjoyed the creamy cilantro sauce with its fresh herb flavor. The parchita (passion fruit juice) was great, though my cup contained more ice than I would have liked. I really enjoyed my meal on the patio outside the former bus terminal that now houses the DT3 Farmers Market.
I can’t comment on the meats here, as you couldn’t even pay me to eat a steak cooked by Gordon Ramsay himself. However, my husband approved of his Reina Pepiada. Look for Rika Arepa Express at First Friday and StrEATs this month– I think it will be love at first bite when you taste their ¡sazón! (Just not in the Lorena Garcia for Taco Bell way.)

After the ass service from Snowballs I found Rika Arepa’s food truck in the same farmers market! I’ve never seen them here before so I had to try it. I asked if they were related to the Arepa’s downtown and they said no. Oh well, I loved Viva Las Arepas and this one isn’t as bad too!
I ordered a beef and pork. I added cheese to them and they were so good. You get two sauces packed with your order if you have it to go and the staff is nice and explained everything to me. The Arepa tasted homemade and was flaky, nice. Look out for this food truck at Farmers Market!

This is the first time I’ve seen the Rika Arepa Express food truck near my work place and I couldn’t find any reviews on Unilocal,so i’m assuming they are new. Anyway, I googled the name and found their website, where you can find pictures of their products. I was looking toward to munch on some empanadas for lunch but they didn’t have any. They told me that they only have empanadas on special occasions. If that is the case, they should have noted on their website about it and when is the heck they consider «special occasion» !!! Another thing that rubbed me the wrong way is that they charged tax separately on the products (other food trucks I dealt with usually included tax in their price already), so I ended up with so much coins in my pockets and the time they sort out coins make wait time longer.
Now that I got the anger out of my system, let’s talk about the food. Since I couldn’t order the empanadas because it’s not «special occasion», I ended up ordered a #3 (stewed pork) and #4 (stew shredded beef) arepas. I didn’t have high expecation and was just hoping that it’s close to the arepas I tried at Viva Las Arepas on Las Vegas Blvd. I was floored when I took the first few bites. Damn, the arepas were good and actually much better than the one at Viva Las Arepas. The bun itself was fresh and not over-​oily like the one over at Viva Las Arepas. The pork and beef meats were flavorful, juicy, and not salty like the other place.
Overall, I love it and will definitely come back here for arepas. The price is not bad either. The pork arepa is $ 3.50 + tax, and the beef arepa is $ 4 + tax. Here is the memo to R.A.E owners, have tax included in the price and round it up to like $ 4 for pork arepa and $ 4.50 for beef. Also try to include empanadas in your menu if you have it listed on your website. Ohh, another thing, if you don’t take credit card, don’t have it listed on your website either. A co-​worker of mine had to run to the nearby ATM and pay ATM fee just to get some cash to pay for it when he was told they don’t take credit card even though their website said they do take it.