Washington Heights, Nueva York – One of the best parts of living in New York is the gastronomic diversity and if you want to find arepas, cachapas and other typical Venezuelan foods we have the best recommendation. Cachapas and More is a family restaurant that was established 14 years ago in the Washington Heights neighborhood by the Villalobos family.
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Ivette Villalobos is the daughter of the owners of the restaurant and tells us that her family came to the United States in 1989 because her father always dreamed of living in New York. Your family’s story is the American dream itself.
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“My parents always had different jobs,” Ivette tells us. “My mom worked in aesthetics and my dad was working for a while as a taxi driver.”
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Living among the Dominicans of Washington Heights made the Villalobos family feel at home. Ivette says that a light bulb went off in her father’s mind when he realized that the Dominican culture resembled the culture of the maracuchos that come from the western coast of Venezuela.
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Gambling it all on Washington Heights
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It was at that moment 14 years ago that his father decided to sell his taxi so he could start his own business as a restaurant owner.
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It all started with an old food truck, “we died and it was difficult to understand or try to stay positive because it was such a radical change,” explains Villalobos. “But he was convinced that it was going to work and so we opened.”
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Eventually this truck became a physical restaurant and now the Villalobos family owns three physical restaurants with two in Washington Heights and one in Queens.
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Welcoming new immigrants from Venezuela
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The environment for Venezuelans was very different when the Villalobos family arrived in New York. In 1990 there were just 42,000 Venezuelans living in the United States, according to census statistics and collaboration with the Migration Policy Institute.
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Villalobos says that when she was little it was rare to see a Venezuelan, “I half heard a Venezuelan accent and I was excited because it was something new.”
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Villalobos is still emotional when meeting with the Venezuelans. She explains that welcoming Venezuelans “is like saying “’Hi, here we are!’” and we are welcoming them with a lot of love, knowing that most of them may not be here because it is their dream or because they want to be here. , but because circumstances have brought them”.
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He emphasizes that above all he wants Venezuelans in New York to feel at home.
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To those who have not tried Venezuelan food
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For those who have not tried Venezuelan food, Cachapas y Más offers a variety of options.
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Villalobos’ recommendation is to start with the cheesecakes and the tequeños. “And if you don’t mind the calories, I’d go for a Yoyo of shredded beef with fried cheese”, he says with a grin from ear to ear.
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Cachapas y Mas has two locations, one is at 107 Dyckman Street New York, NY 10040 and the other is at 678 Seneca Avenue Ridgewood, NY 11385.
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