August 18, 2003 New York Magazine - Caracas Arepa Bar, La Especialidad Venezolana en NY Nueva York As the tortillas is to Mexican cuisine, the arepa is to Venezuelan; a corn flour canvas subject to infinite permutations, many of them available at the new Caracas Arepa Bar in the East Village. Used in place of bread, the griddled arepas are split and variously stuffed with shredded beef, smoked salmon, tuna salad, black beans, plantains, guacamole, and four kinds of cheese (a German-immigrant contribution to the national diet). For variety, the tiny kitchen turns out empanadas, yet another version of stuffed corn flour. Small but deceptively filling, the savory snack ($2.25 to $ 4.50) are served in plastic baskets, clam-shack-style, and energized considerably with the addition of house-made hot sauces. Once home to Harry's Burritos, the small storefront has inherited some of its predecessor's bohemian spirit, appealing to Vegans with tofu and to professional slackers as a place to, as the menu advises, "hang out and chill in". "It was sort of a hippie idea", admits owner and former TV-commercial producer Maribel Araujo, to whom the frenetic pace an long hours of the restaurant industry came as something of a surprise: "That's not hippie at all" (91 East 7th Street; 212-228-5062.)