If you are looking for a restaurant completely out of the ordinary, your search ends with Guasaca Arepa and Salsa Grill.

Based on the Venezuelan cuisine, this restaurant successfully introduced one of the most common foods of South America to the United States with a few modifications. Arepa, known by various names in different parts of Latin America, is a delicious cake usually made of corn or flour mix. It usually comes stuffed with cheese, chicken, or beef.

In Guasaca the food is cooked in an assembly line style, much like Chipotle. The arepas are prepared with fresh and healthy “homemade” ingredients. The restaurant’s policy is to try to minimize the use of processed or pre-made meals.

 Their menu features several options, you can chose one of the seven signature arepas containing chicken, steak, shredded beef, or just vegetables tilapia together with black beans, pico de gallo, avocado, fried plantains and cheese. There is also the option of ordering arepas, salads or dishes customized to your liking.

To accompany these delicious concoctions you can also order side dishes and sauces. The cilantro sauce complements the flavor of any arepa joined with mustard sauce, red sauce and wine vinegar. Guasaca sauce with delicious chunks of avocado, cucumbers, tomatoes and other special ingredients is a stylized version of the typical guasacaca sauce of Venezuela, which in turn is very similar to traditional guacamole.

Although the arepas are slightly Americanized, they have a truly distinctive flavor and are cooked to perfection. This restaurant adds spice and variety to the Raleigh area and adds a piece of the Venezuelan culture to the area.

Aside from boasting of delicious food, the restaurant is at a reasonable distance for those who have cars on campus. 

Guasaca is less than 10 minutes away by car from N.C. State and is located at 4205 Lake Boone Trail, Raleigh.