Arepa Lady

Maria Piedad Cano, a Colombian immigrant, began running a late-night weekend food cart decades ago as a way to support her four children. A cult of foodies rhapsodized about her online (Chowhound founder Jim Leff is credited with discovering her), leading to legions of disappointed people who made the trek and couldn't always find her. Her children are grown up now, and two of them joined her in the business, pooling their resources to open a brick-and-mortar café where her arepas are available six days a week. There is little more adornment than dollar bills and a poster describing first aid instructions for choking taped to the wall. The arepas still come on paper plates, big, buttery, golden corn cakes with a hint of sugar, folded over melted mozzarella and a choice of chicken, chorizo or steak. They taste like love.