Tucked away in Northside #YEG, El Fogon serves up some killer Venezuelan and Latino cuisine. I’ve never heard of El Fogon before until couple weeks after Avila Arepa opened. Hours are decent for the area, although I’d prefer them to open just an hour later during the weekends. We’re in need of more late night eats… That aside, the location has a full parking lot which makes parking easy!
I initially heard about this place from another blogger Linda (click here to read her review) and decided it was time to try it for myself.
Disclaimer: I was invited to try El Fogon. My meal was compensated but all thoughts and opinions are my own.
white cheese cachapa $9.99
Started off with trying our first cachapa loaded with queso de mano (handmade cheese). If you’ve never had cachapa before, or heard of it, it’s a traditional Venezuelan dish made with corn. The ones from El Fogon are made with fresh ground corn. The consistency is similar to a thick pancake and tastes sweet from the corn. Very tasty!
pupusa with meat $4.99
Salvadoran dish, pupusa, is a thick corn tortilla stuffed with savoury filling, and served with a spicy cabbage slaw (curtido) and tomato salsa. Although it tasted good, I found the tortilla to be a little too thick and dry.
shredded beef empanada $3.50
If you were to only order one dish from here, I would highly suggest the empanadas. This was absolutely phenomenon and left me wanting more. The crispy empanadas are stuffed with a mixture of succulent beef.
- chicken and soft cheese arepa $11.99 (top), beef and gouda cheese arepa (bottom) $11.99
I love arepas. The ones from El Fogon were no doubt scrumptious. The difference between the arepas here and Avila, is the cheese. Adding cheese to a hot substance can cause the protein in the cheese to coagulate too quickly, which will result to a clumpy mixture and the fat squeezes out into a greasy mess. This tends to happen with the arepas I find in Avila. I used to love their arepas but now I just feel like I’m eating a huge block of melted cheese. I didn’t find this problem in my arepas from El Fogon.
House-made green and red pepper sauces. I LOVED the green pepper sauce (maybe because it had a hint of cilantro). They sell these in stores as well but it was sold out when we got there. I would’ve purchased the green one to go and drink it like soup…
If you’re looking for delicious Venezuelan food, look no further. I would definitely recommend giving El Fogon a try. High quality food and affordable prices — can’t go wrong with that! It’s small, local, and family owned. Service is also very friendly and welcoming. I’ll be back to try their tequenos and of course, the empanadas!
El Fogón Latino: Comida Venezolana
8026 118 Ave NW, Edmonton, AB T5B 0R8
YEG CRAVINGS 