Bright-orange kanafeh -- a mild white cheese sandwiched between two layers of thin pastry and soaked in sugar syrup -- at Al-Sham Sweets on Steinway St is one of the best you’ll find anywhere. Located in the heart of Little Egypt, one of Astoria’s important immigrant communities, this Middle Eastern bakery also offers a variety of baklava and other MidEast cookies like ma’amoul (filled with dates) and ghorayebah (butter cookies). During Ramadan, the area is particularly lively at night, and at the same bakery you can get katayef, a typical post-fasting sweet that fills little pancakes with nuts or cheese, is deep-fried, and gets sweetened with sugar syrup.

The Arepa Lady, originally known for slinging cheesy, golden arepas (stuffed corn cakes) from her famed street-cart on Roosevelt Avenue has since established three stand-alone restaurants across New York City. The Jackson Heights location is the original “mother restaurant” and keeps to the classics like arepa de queso (freshly ground corn flour mixed with cheese) and arepa de choclo, served with your choice of meat. Try the popular chichiron (smoked pork belly) or Colombian chorizo (which is sliced, rather than ground up).

Maria Cano served as a judge in Medellin before fleeing Colombia in the 1980s due to the escalating drug war. After settling in New York, Cano began delighting residents with her arepas – cheesy grilled corn pucks stuffed with everything from grilled chicken to chicharron – with a simple street cart under the elevated train tracks in Jackson Heights. Known fondly as the Arepa Lady, she opened a brick-and-mortar restaurant in 2014 due to popular demand, where she cooks the same crisped-up and doughy arepas.

The Colombian spot, which specializes in handheld favorites, has been operating their first storefront in Jackson Heights since the ’90s. At their DeKalb stall, you can get a shorter menu of arepas and empanadas. We’d suggest going for an arepa de rellena, which are stuffed with stewed or grilled meats and melty cheese—your face will only get a little dirty if you’re planning on eating your chicharron arepa back at your desk.

What began as a modest cart is now upgraded to a sit-down restaurant specializing in arepas and other Colombian bites in Jackson Heights. The kitchen is run by Maria Piedad Cano and her family. Order for some of the best South American corn cakes found in New York.

Maria Piedad Cano, the original Arepa Lady, got her start as a street vendor. Her sons have continued her legacy with a physical space that continues to serve the same traditional Colombian fare that their mother peddled, only now you can sit in the charming restaurant while you enjoy your meal. Of course, the Arepa Lady still focuses on her namesake by presenting a pretty massive selection of arepas, including gluten-free and vegetarian options, as well as chicken, shredded beef, sirloin, pork belly, and sausage for unbeatable prices.

Arepa Lady: This cute, sit-down spot offers delicious Colombian arepas, patacones, and a long local history—the owners’ mother was the original “Arepa Lady,” an iconic Roosevelt Avenue street vendor here in Jackson Heights. I love both the pillowy arepa de queso and the arepa de choclo (the sweeter yellow kind) with chorizo, paired with a fruity frozen margarita (sangria and nonalcoholic fruit shakes are also available). The patacones, fried green plaintain chips, with guacamole make a terrific appetizer.

When her stock is out, or it's 3 a.m., I head to the Arepa Lady for her saucy, gooey, thicker spin on the corn cake. Throngs of salivating customers flock from all over (including regulars from Westchester) for arepa de queso (cheese-infused corn cake best drizzled with condensed milk) and arepa de chocolo (ground fresh corn cake stuffed with cheese and meat and drizzled with garlic, hot, and pink sauces). Because at 3 a.m., she's everyone's Colombian mother.

The Arepa Lady, a Jackson Heights legend, has been delighting locals and visitors with authentic Colombian street food for years. What makes The Arepa Lady special is its ability to transport you to the bustling streets of Colombia through its tantalizing arepas and other savory bites. What began as a humble food cart has evolved into a brick-and-mortar restaurant, allowing even more people to experience the culinary treasures of Colombia.

The eponymous 'Arepa Lady' is Maria Piedad Cano, ex-lawyer and current queen of Colombian corn cakes in Queens. There are just three delicacies available: arepas, which are soft, pillowy and made from cornmeal; chocolo, which are larger, chewy, sweet and made from fresh corn; and telas, which are small and similar to tortillas. We shared an arepa de queso and a chocolo, also with queso, because I can never have enough cheese.

Maria Piedad Cano, known as the “Sainted Arepa Lady”, started this business in a food cart in Queens. Formerly a lawyer and judge in Medellín, Colombia, she brought the best Arepas recipe to NYC with her. The classic corn flour cake is served three ways: arepa de queso, arepa de chocolo and arepa tela, which come with cheese, chorizo (sausage), grilled meat, grilled chicken or shredded beef.

Way before she had a vendor license, Maria Piedad Cano – the famous Arepa Lady – was a lawyer and a judge in Colombia. When she moved to the US and found herself starting from scratch, she sold her dreamy arepas from a cart, eventually becoming an icon in the neighborhood and across New York’s boroughs. Now, three brick & mortars sell her fluffy, cheesy arepas and other Columbian treats.

Maria Piedad Cano is the eponymous Arepa Lady, and she’s been delighting neighbors and visitors with fluffy corn flour Colombian arepas for more than 25 years. The Arepa Lady originally began as a pushcart on Roosevelt Avenue in Queens. Due to its popularity, Cano (a former lawyer from Medellín, Colombia) was able to turn that cart into a sit-down restaurant in 2014.

In many countries, the tastiest food selections are prepared along the roads as cars, bikes, and pedestrians pass by. There's something uniquely distinct about street food that is hard to replicate in an indoor kitchen. The Jackson Heights "Arepa Lady" knows this to be true, which is why she serves her authentic Colombian arepas right on the street in Queens.

Street cart turned restaurant, the actual Arepa Lady is Maria Piedad Cano from Colombia, a former lawyer who turned to vending as a way to sustain her family. After receiving critical acclaim on Roosevelt Ave, she moved into her fresh digs on 37th Ave, which she runs with her sons. The arepas con queso and arepas de choclo are her premier dishes.

Arepa Lady dates back to 1980s when it was started as a food truck by Maria Cano, a former Colombian lawyer and judge in Medellin who fled the country during the drug wars of Pablo Escobar. Today it is a brick and mortar location, and you could sit down for a proper meal if you felt like it. Pictured is the Arepa de Queso with Chorizo.

Look, women hawking arepas on Roosevelt Avenue are a dime a dozen. But sandwiched between all the taco trucks and kabob carts is, Maria Cano, the one and only Arepa Lady. Her freshly made, piping hot, buttery corn cakes are served with a crunchy top and a cheesy center, creating the very stuff that food fantasies are made of.

If you’re not into oozy, melty cheese and crispy cornmeal deliciousness, don’t visit any of the Arepa Lady outposts in Jackson Heights or Brooklyn. Because that just means a shorter queue and more delicious arepa de queso for us. Two locations in Jackson Heights, Queens and Brooklyn; 917-745-1111 or@arepalady

When a street food joint becomes so famous as to become a proper restaurant, you know it serves something special. That’s precisely the case with Arepa Lady, a Colombian restaurant on 37th Avenue. It upgraded to its current location in 2018 and serves a delicious menu of tasty and savory arepa.

Jackson Heights 77-17 37th Ave, Queens & Downtown Brooklyn 445 Gold Street, Brooklyn. Maria Piedad Cano is the Arepa Lady – but she should be known as the Arepa Queen. The New Yorker, originally from Medellin, Colombia rose to fame by selling her incredible arepas from a street cart in Queens.

🍽️ Colombian | ($$) | Website | 📍 Google Maps | 📞 917-745-1111 | Neighborhood: Jackson Heights, Queens. Arepa Lady in Jackson Heights is my go-to for traditional Colombian cuisine. The restaurant has three locations in Queens and Brooklyn, operated by the same owners.

Arepa Lady – The cornmeal cakes made at this brick-and-mortar version of a street cart – a staple for many South Americans – are bar none some of the best in the city. Make sure to stop here for this delicious, sweet, and warm snack while on the move.

If you’re still feeling peckish, hit up Arepa Lady, a local chain that grew out of a pushcart in 1990 and to this day makes some of New York’s favorite Colombian arepas.

The Latin American cornmeal cakes that are the namesake of this restaurant are typically made with cheese, but Arepa Lady has several vegan options to choose from.

Attendees will sample dishes from a half dozen Jackson Heights establishments including the Arepa Lady, Dhaulagiri Kitchen, Bombay Chaat and Patel Brothers.

What it is: Tiny place serving up incredible Colombian food. Where it is: Jackson Heights, Queens. There are four types of arepas on the menu here.