Ed. note: Luis's has (hopefully temporarily!) closed.
Luis's Arepera & Grill just moved from Saco and opened at 948 Forest Ave. in Portland, in the former home of Vivian's Drive-In. I'd always heard about this mythical Luis's, serving delicious arepas in the far away land of Saco, but had never made the pilgrimage. For the uninitiated, arepas are Venezuelan sandwiches made of fried masa shells, crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside, stuffed with meat, veggies, and cheese.
When my lunch was insufficient today and my friend texted to celebrate Luis's opening, we decided to buzz over, and finally, I experienced my first arepa.
The space inside Luis's new location is pretty small—it's mostly kitchen, with a Pepsi cooler, counter space, and some bar stools along the wall of windows. We ordered an arepa each; I went with shredded chicken ($5.99) while A. ordered shredded beef ($6.99). There's a few other meat options and avocado, 3 cheese, and bean and cheese.
We waited for our food on some stools; I was extremely hungry, so the wait felt long. In reality, it was probably 7 minutes until our arepas were ready. While we waited, we watched other customers come and go, and I eyed their bulging takeout containers as they added hot sauce. I must have seen a combo meal, which comes with rice and beans or fries.
Our food came up, and now I know what all the fuss is about! The arepa was warm and crunchy on the outside, and filled with juicy shredded chicken, cool lettuce, and cheese. And it was a perfect amount of food—I didn't feel too stuffed afterwards. I already can't wait to go back, especially now that I've seen their menu includes churros (!!).
If you, like me, have only heard tales of these wonderful arepas, now you can check out Luis's closer to home. Brave the traffic of Forest Ave. to Luis's Arepera & Grill, and be sure to give them a warm welcome to Portland.