What: Arepa with shredded beef and cheddar
Where: PasteListos, 186 S. Sunrise Way, Palm Springs
How much: $13.80
Contact: 760-774-9692; www.instagram.com/pastelistos_store
Why: Everything was excellent.
It’s always a pleasure when I go to a restaurant and decide to do an Indy Endorsement, but I have trouble choosing what to endorse, because multiple items are worthy.
Such was the case on a recent lunch visit to PasteLitos. A favorite at Palm Springs Village Fest, PasteLitos also offers its delicious Venezuelan fare in a tiny brick-and-mortar location five days a week. I placed my pick-up order via DoorDash and then made the short drive to Sunrise Drive and Tahquitz Canyon Way to get it. When I brought the food home, we dove in—and boy, were we thrilled.
Should I endorse one of the delicious arepas, like the one filled with shredded beef and cheddar cheese? A grilled cornmeal cake was stuffed with oh-so-good shredded beef, microgreens, cheese and a fantastic green sauce. My only complaint was that I after I finished, I wanted another.
Or do I endorse one of the fantastic empanadas ($4.60 each)? We ordered several of them, and they are indistinguishable from the outside, so we didn’t know which one we’d be eating until we took the first bite. Our favorite was the one with shredded beef, but all of them featured the crispy cornmeal pastry that was so good, it almost made the fillings irrelevant.
In the end, I chose to endorse the shredded beef and cheddar arepa—but it was not an easy decision.
In addition to arepas, empanadas and a handful of other treats, the restaurant offers its namesake pastelitos—puff pastries with fillings both savory and sweet—as well as patacones, aka plantains with meat.
Given how fantastic everything we ordered was, we can’t wait to go back and try more.
