Fuego de Lotus

3221 SE Division St
Portland, OR 97202

Tue-Thu, Sun 11:30 am – 8:00 pm
Fri-Sat 11:30 am – 9:00 pm

I came here on a nice sunny day and the entire pod of food stands/trucks was super busy for dinner. Although a little out of the way from downtown Portland it was worth it to get this unique treat of a meal. Their specialties here are the arapas. You can grab any of them for $6.

I haven’t had much experience with Venezuelan food so was excited to try something new for a chance. I was recommended the chorizo and plantain arepa. However, with few high-quality plantains at the market that day the guy running the stand sold out before I got there. I was pretty disappointed but I can appreciate him wanting to maintain high standards for his food even if it is served from a food truck/stand. He recommended I try the Pork belly in a red chili maple sauce arepa. When I got the arepa it was presented beautifully like a piece of art (see picture below). It almost looked like an open faced sandwich made by Van Gogh. After taking a few glamor shots of the food I dug into the meat first. It was a good amount of spice with the really flavorful maple sauce. It also didn’t seem too greasy like most pork belly sandwiches. I next grabbed a piece of the corn bun that was soaking in the juices below. Wow!!! The corn bun, the maple chili sauce, and the pork belly runoff made a killer combo of flavors and textures.

Note – Credit cards are accepted here.

Yelp – 4.5/5.0 Stars (41 Ratings)