The Corn Factory

I was initially skeptical because it only took 30 seconds for them to give me my food. I got a beef arepa with cheese and avocado. All I can say is WOW!!! The arepa was piping hot. The beef melted in my mouth and had unbelievable flavors. I go to food trucks every day. This is the best meal I have had at a food truck! I was so moved by this arepa that I decided to write my first ever Unilocal review about this truck. Go!!!

I initially hesitated, because I feared the Arepas might be small or unsatisfying. NOPE. Everything was really, really good. Very fresh. Very flavorful. I will absolutely return anytime I see the truck nearby.

Tried the chicken arepa with sweet plaintain. Very good. Came with sauce and pico de gallo on the side. The pico was fresh. Very good overall. Will try other menu items next time.

04.04.16. The empanada did not have a lot of flavor, the pastry was freshly baked though, like the first time I had it. I had to add a lot of hot sauce to add flavor. I ordered the Arepas with the plantains, but they forgot the plantains. This is the second time I tried the food as I liked to give the truck another chance. Will not return.

My husband and I were heading towards the Tidal Basin this past weekend to see the cherry blossoms when we noticed a slew of food trucks lining two whole blocks near the mall. Once I laid my eyes on their menu, I knew what I wanted to eat — cachapas ($ 8)! I have a soft spot for Venezuelan food, and they certainly didn’t disappoint.
I ordered the shredded beef with cheese, which was sandwiched between two corn cake-​like buns. For some extra sweetness, I splurged an extra $ 0.50 for fried sweet plantains (maduros). The beef was juicy and tender and the plantains were ripe and not oily. I was really glad that I had added the plantains to the sandwich. It offered the perfect touch!
The wait wasn’t too bad despite how busy they were, and service was offered with a smile. The food was fresh, delicious, and worth every penny. I’d definitely be back if we crossed paths again. In addition to cachapas, they also serve tacos and arepas (sandwiches with maize-​flour buns). Yum!

Holy cow, I haven’t had this good of a food truck in awhile. I got the Beef Cachapas and added cheese and it has plantains in it. It is the best thing I’ve eaten in awhile. I’ve only taken 3 bites of mine so far and found the need to quickly tell my Unilocal family how incredible this is. This truck is definitely on my top fave food truck list now. I can’t wait to try their empanadas next time. Yum!

3.5 stars.
Good price point for food truck food. Very aesthetically pleasing presentation. Not very generous on the cheese for the additional charge, nor on the pico de gallo.
Chicken was rather dry and all dark meat.
Might return if in the area, but overall this was a little disappointing.
Friendly staff a plus.

I stopped at the Corn Factory food truck one day during the lunch rush at L’Enfant Plaza. The very sweet woman who took my order answered my questions and made a great suggestion for my meal. I told her that I have had Arepas in the past so she suggested I try something differed. I had a Cachapa — sweet corn tortilla pancake stuffed with mozzarella and avocado. I cannot express how delicious and well balanced this was. It was so fresh and hot off the griddle that I had to wait a few minutes to eat it. It was accompanied by a hot green sauce and a pico de gallo. I immediately recommended this to my co-​workers and the ones that have tried it love it just as much as I do. I can’t wait to go back and try everything on the menu! Well done, Corn Factory!

I came across The Corn Factory over by the State Department. I wanted everything on the menu. I decided to get the Carne Mechado Cachapas and to my delight the woman taking orders asked if I want cheese (Yes, Please) and then if I want plantains on it (I almost hugged her). It was amazing and the pico de gallo they serve on the side is SO good. I went back today and got the same but they were out of plantains (sad face) because they were slammed at the lunch hour. The same woman was taking orders. Let me speak to her for a moment. She is probably the nicest food truck person I have come across. (And I have a small food truck addiction). She’s extremely friendly but also has a sense of humor.
Excellent food and super staff. They will definitely be getting more of my $$$. Thanks Corn Factory!
~ Stephanie from Foggy Bottom

This is my new favorite food truck! I first tried arepas, which are corn pancakes, when I was in a wedding in Venezuela several years ago. I loved them but I had never seen them in DC. I was so excited to see this food truck. These areaps are delicious — my favorite is the shredded chicken. I highly recommend adding the plantains and cheese. The fillings are super flavorful, and I love that they wrap the areaps in foil so they stay warm. I’m definitely coming back frequently.

I stopped by the Woodbridge Food Truck Festival this weekend… of course as the name describes, there were numerous different trucks ranging in ethnicity. I made a plan to take a full lap around the festival before committing to one (or three) places and the bright yellow corn truck stuck out immediately.
I ended up right back in front of The Corn Factory truck drooling over the menu. Not knowing what the majority of the items were, the woman in the window was more than helpful explaining the different choices, right down to the type and sweetness level of the corn.
I opted for the Carne Mechada Cachapas and a chicken tamale. The Cachapas was to die for. I was there with two other people and we were all nibbling from each other’s containers, this was by far everyone’s favorite.
The corn patties were sweet and crisp and held up well against the tender beef that was sandwiched in between. All I can say is YUM. My best friend works in DC near where this truck is rumored to hang out … this could be dangerous — and she could literally bring me one home every day, I would be a much happier person.
The tamale was good, perhaps a tad bit on the dry side. The chicken filling was seasoned well and maintained its juiciness. I know tamales are a pretty dry creature to begin with but I wasn’t thrilled. I would eat a cachapas every day of my life, but I probably wouldn’t order a tamale again.
I have my eyes set on the empanadas next trip… nom, nom, nom.

fresh and delicious! The chicken arepa was flavorful, although difficult to eat, and the empanadas were incredibly good. Pico de gallo was fresh and tasty, and came with really nice hot sauce.
Service was quick, no issues at all. Will try again.

ordered chicken arepa with avocado
Went down to the food trucks on first street today and saw the enormous lines at tasty kabob and dc slices. No line at the corn factory and I love me some arepa so I headed over there.
Service-​No friendly greeting or even a hi! how are you today? She just looked at me until I placed my order and then immediately tried to upsell me by rapidly writing the order down with all the toppings. I corrected her that I only wanted avocado.
So no points on customer service.
Food Prep-​Since I was literally the only person ordering I expected to have my arepa made fresh, I was extremely disappointed when I saw the cook reach over to the side and wrap up a pre-​made arepa. I have no idea how old the thing was. At other trucks that service the area, all the food is cooked to order, even on heavy volume days.
Definitely not pleased with the effort I saw go into my food prep.
Experience/​Presentation-​Opening the container I was pretty disgusted. Holy Hell the butter! The styrofoam was literally flooded with buttery yellow oil. The aluminum foil was literally coated in ‘butter’ outside and in, and the salsa and hot sauce containers were covered in butter. Not only that, in the 5 minutes it took me to get back to my desk, the food was already cold. I went through two napkins trying to get the arepa out of the aluminum foil because of all the butter and grease, and then when I got it out I was face to face with a soggy, glistening, yellow oil bomb. I had to peel it open to find the tiny smear of avocado that cost me as much as half an entire hass avocado.
All in all, not a glowing experience or presentation.
Taste-​It was so greasy that even when I had my face a foot out over the container the red/​yellow oil running down my chin dripped onto my shirt. One less shirt for me I guess.
I want to stress this point: As I was trying to eat it, there was oil and orange water literally pouring out of it into the container. The taste of the chicken was ok, but the muffin was so soggy it was falling apart as I bit into it. I only ate about three bites before I tossed it out and washed my hands.
So taste was sub par in every way. All of the texture I’ve come to expect at other restaurants was overcome by a soggy mass of butter covered undercooked muffin.
You may say «but it’s a food truck lol» but the trucks that have their business down pat would never serve me this… thing. Arepa Zone, Tasty kabob, and others have left me very happy, not disgusted. The worst part is that $ 8.50 later I’m still hungry with no time left to get more food. It may very well be that I had a bad experience, as there are a lot of positive reviews for the service. At the same time, I completely understand why there were 200 people waiting for tasty kabob and dc slices and nobody for the corn factory.

The corn factory serves central and south american snack food. I stopped by the truck and ordered a mixed cheese arepa with avocado and plantains. The service was friendly, the wait was only a few minutes, and the arepa was wrapped in foil to keep it warm and was served with a side of what I assume to be salsa verde and pico de gallo.
I first had arepas while on a trip in Colombia, and the corn factory’s arepa stood up to those and might have even been better. My arepa was moist with a nice crunch, the filling was overflowing (get lots of napkins), and the salsas were fresh and complimented the arepa nicely. It filled me up for the rest of the day and was a nice alternative to the usual salad or sandwich. While the price points are consistent with DC, it was refreshing to go to a truck that was serving the type of food that you’d expect from a truck and executing it well.
I will be back for the arepas and to try some of the other menu items. Hoping to bump this up to 5 stars after a few visits to see how consistent they are.

So, I passed this truck a few times and then submitted to the siren song of the arepa — and lo and behold, I have a new favorite food truck. I’ve had the mixed cheese arepa with plantains and the beef cachapa with plantains — and they were both AMAZING. Their plantains are delicious so I actually prefer the simpler, crispier arepa to the cachapa (which is more like a pancake consistency), but the price is on point for one of these. You get some salsa and green sauce with each, which I find super falvorful and good. And for $ 7, I get a super filling lunch, which I think is very reasonable for a food truck. Gold star!
Bonus: the staff is very nice and will help make suggestions if you are unsure what to get!

This place is unbelievable. My coworker wanted to try it on a whim & we were not disappointed. I ordered a Mixta Cachapa and we split a Beef Arepa. Words can’t describe how amazing both were. The cachapa had all the flavors going for it. The corn pancakes tasted a little like corn pudding to me, which i’m a huge fan of. the arepa was also perfect. seasoned to perfection. They had a spicy sauce on the side that I added to both items. The sauce by itself didn’t taste like much, but once you added it to the food, it was a new element that was incredible. I will definitely have to keep an eye out for this food truck!

A unique food truck since there are very few like The Corn Factory in DC. I originally thought it was a popcorn truck because of the name but was pleasantly surprised to find a menu full of Venezuelan/​Mexican food. The line was quite long so I assumed everyone knew something I didn’t! I ordered the chicken avocado arepa with added cheese. For $ 8+ and a 30 minute wait, this arepa just didn’t do it for me. I was excited to try it since what’s there not to like about chicken and avocado but to my dismay, it was quite flavorless. The arepa came with a green sauce that didn’t have much flavor either. The pico de gallo was actually very delicious; that was my favorite part of the meal lol Interesting concept but unfortunately missed the mark for me.

Arepas are something that constantly lure me in. I love deliciousness packaged inside a warm corn arepa.
The Corn Factory truck can typically be found on 13^th Street at Franklin Square Park, Union Station, L’Enfant Plaza and 12^th & D during lunch as well as at events around the city. You can find their location on their Facebook page. At first I assumed the truck featured a variety of corns, but it is Venezuelan and Mexican food like arepas, tacos, empanadas, tamales, etc.
I really enjoyed my shredded chicken arepa plus avocado ($.50). The arepas are served with a spicy green salsa and a milder pico salsa. The meat is so flavorful. They have an option of chicken and avocado salad, but the shredded chicken plus avocado gets a thumbs up from me. Pork, cheese, beef or a mix are also available. All of that plus a drink comes to about $ 9. Tacos come in sets of 3, tamales and empanadas in sets of 2, and arepas come individually. One arepa is plenty for a filling lunch.
Don’t let the name confuse you. The Corn Factory has really delicious food. If you spot it on the street, I recommend giving it a try. They also accept credit cards!

I needed to visit the Corn Factory two weeks in a row to confirm what I thought on my initial visit — 5 stars.
On my first visit, I got the arepas — combo chicken and beef. Both meats were juicy and nicely seasoned. I was surprised to see that I got just one arepa with literally the chicken and beef side by side (for some reason I expected two separate arepas, although that was a leap I made on my own). My meal also came with tomatillo salsa, which was excellent.
2^nd visit I got the tacos and chose carne asada, added avocado and pico de gallo on the side. The meat was seasoned nicely, juicy, and the portion was plenty filling! The avocado was fresh and they definitely didn’t skimp on the portions.
Prices are reasonable, portions filling, and fillings fresh. One of my new favorite trucks!

We tried the Arepas, which are stuffed grilled corn patties, and the Cachapas, which are stuffed sweet corn pancakes.
AREPAS — we tried both the mixta of stuffed shredded beef and shredded chicken, and just shredded beef. Also added cheese and plantains. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!! The combination of the saltiness of the meat, with the sweetness of the plantains was delicious!!! Preferred the beef, both were flavorful, but the beef had a more robust flavor.
CACHAPAS — we tried the shredded chicken with cheese and that was also very good!
The pico de gallo was exceptionally fresh, as was the spicy green salsa.
It was an excellent culinary experience! I will go back to try the tamales — and prob another beef arepas with plantains!
The service was relatively quick and very friendly.