Venezuelan in Miami

Amaize Aventura

19129 Biscayne Blvd., Aventura South Beach

786-279-2260

Fast Casual, Latin American, Latin, Venezuelan

3 articles

Bocas House

10200 NW 25th St., #101 Doral

786-401-7071

Latin American, Peruvian, Venezuelan

6 articles

Budare Bistro

1830 SW Third Ave. Brickell

786-250-8078

Venezuelan, South American, Best Of, Menu

2 articles

Caballo Viejo Restaurant

7921 Bird Rd. Westchester/West Miami

305-264-8772

South American, Venezuelan, Best Of

Awarded by New Times for having the Best Arepas in 2009, this small, nondescript eatery is situated in a small strip mall. You'd never guess the goodies that await you inside. The place is loaded with indigenous crafts and trinkets, and the staff is friendly and helpful to newbies - someone will gladly explain any menu item you don't understand. Due to its size, Caballo Viejo isn't an ideal place for large groups, but it's an awesome place to dine with a few friends. Popular dishes include hallaca sola, a Venezuelan stew wrapped in a cornmeal pancake ($7.50), and hallaca con ensalada de gallina, an hallaca sola served with chicken salad ($9.50). If you're in the mood for something meaty, try the pabellon criollo ($10.95), shredded meat, white rice, black beans, and fried sweet plantains, or parrilla caballo viejo ($20.95), which includes grilled sirloin steak, pork chops, sausage, and blood sausage. Of course, the ever-so-popular arepitas blancas o mixtas ($2.95), mini cornmeal patties plain or stuffed, are a must-have - we did award name them Best Arepas, after all...

1 article

Cafe Charlotte

1497 Washington Ave., Miami Beach South Beach

305-535-1522

Latin American, Venezuelan, Recommended

Cafe Charlotte features Venezuelan specialties. A great intro to that nation's cuisine is a sampler including guayanas cheese (similar to mozzarella but looser), tequeños (dough-wrapped sticks of firm white cheese), a fried cornmeal tamale, deep-fried beef mini-empanadas, and house-made guasacaca sauce, a thinner and delectably tangier version of guacamole. And mojo shrimp — fresh Florida shellfish precisely sautéed with a mix of orange, lemon, and cilantro and then finished with a sauce of white wine and butter — is a surprisingly ambitious starter for such a humble setting. There's a small selection of budget-price wines too. In fact, what looks to be just another empanada joint on the outside is cute enough inside to be suitable for a romantic bargain date.

1 article

Canaima Doral

5401 NW 79th Ave. Doral

786-452-9350

Venezuelan, Music Venues

Cardon y El Tirano

3411 SW Eighth St. Little Havana

305-392-1257

Venezuelan, Best Of, Menu

Venezuelan chef Francisco Anton brings together the flavors of the world’s Spanish-countries in one menu. Sometimes it's for the better, and occasionally not as much. The best are his tacos, made with fresh house-pressed tortillas and topped with clever spins on classic fillings such as Negra Modelo-braised beef tongue diced and dusted with chorizo powder. Beef brisket for the funche negro is prepared like Venezuelan asado with panela — a dense, unrefined cane sugar that yields a sugary sauce with a dramatic, molasses-like depth. Yet every bit of moisture seems to be braised out of the meat, leaving it desiccated and beyond repair. Still, Anton's menu is appealing at first glance and combines the array of little snacks and dishes Miami loves. If each can be rolled out as well as the tacos, Little Havana will have another hit.

4 articles

The Crazy Toston

12039 SW 117th Ave. West Kendall

786-701-2193

Mexican, Venezuelan

1 article

Date Aqui Pana

10662 NW 7th St. Doral

305-228-1233

Venezuelan, Community Venues, Best Of

Native to Venezuela and Colombia, the arepa is a corn pone split in half and then stuffed with goodness, resulting in a stomach-expanding cornmeal sandwich. At this small Venezuelan deli, which might appear as just another Latin-American snack shop complete with tradional favorites listed on a chalkboard, every variety of arepa is available, each less than $5. There's the basic cheese-and-butter filling with traditional Venezuelan queso de año -- a salty cheese that's white and crumbly. There's the arepa de perico, full of eggs scrambled with peppers and tomatoes. The reina pepeada has a filling of chicken salad mixed with potatoes, carrots, and avocado. And the best is the arepa de carne mechada, where the corn cake is stuffed with a juicy beef that has been stewed with tomatoes and onions -- not unlike ropa vieja. All are served greasy and hot with a plastic bottle of garlic mayonnaise to squirt on top.

1 article

Doggi Style

5701 Coral Way Westchester/West Miami

Burgers, Hot Dogs, Venezuelan, Food Trucks, Best Of

Unless you're a male bunny named Romeo, Don Juan, or Thumper, humping in public is a pretty crass act. That is, unless you're eating something utterly delicious. In that case, the impulse might happen unconsciously. That's why we suggest bringing your mom, boss, kindergarten teacher, or favorite nun to Doggi Style. It's a clean, little hot-dog stand nuzzled in the far corner of a gas station's parking lot at the intersection of Coral Way and Red Road. The place doles out not only authentic Venezuelan-style street food but also a few bites of nostalgia for the homeland. On the menu are hot dogs ($2.50), vegetarian hot dogs ($3.50), and choripanes served on crusty French bread. They are all done up with grilled onions, lettuce, and potato sticks. Burgers or grilled chicken sandwiches ($5.50) are smothered with ham, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, corn, and potato sticks. Get them fully loaded (an additional $2) with a fried egg, bacon, and avocado on top, and you just might say, "Bow-wow." For an extra kick of awesome, sample of few of owner Laura Schloeter's homemade garlic, spicy mayo, and pineapple sauces. Best part: no grease seeping from your pores afterward. And be forewarned: This is not fast food; everything is made to order, so you might have to wait a bit. But it's worth it.

4 articles

Doggi's Arepa Bar

19565 Biscayne Blvd. Aventura/North Miami Beach

786-320-5131

Venezuelan

1 article

Doggi's Arepa Bar

1246 Coral Way Coral Gables/S. Miami

305-999-7498

Venezuelan, Street Food, Recommended, Best Of, Menu, Readers' Choice

At an arepa bar, it's hard to think beyond the goodness of those crisp, off-white corn cakes. But at Doggi's, the fluffy cachapas are another Venezuelan delicacy worthy of attention. It's a semisweet, taxicab-yellow corn pancake filled with queso de mano and sometimes shredded beef. The texture of the kernels comes through in certain bites, and some areas of the pancake are topped with deep-golden spots for a touch of crunch and extra flavor. Sure, the place proffers large, tasty arepas with fillings ranging from Guayanés cheese to pabellón criollo, but the sweet cachapa just might capture your heart and taste buds.

12 articles

Doggi's Arepa Bar

801 N. Federal Highway Hallandale Beach

754-400-8115

Venezuelan, Best Of

2 articles

Doggi's Arepa Bar

7281 Biscayne Blvd. Miami Shores/Biscayne Park

786-558-9538

Venezuelan, Street Food, Best Of, Menu

5 articles

Doggi's Arepa Bar

2250 NW Second Ave. Midtown/Wynwood/Design District

305-434-2241

Venezuelan, Street Food, Food Trucks, Best Of, Menu

4 articles

La Crema de las Empanadas

10674 SW 24th St. Tamiami

305-485-9360

Venezuelan, Recommended, Menu

The huge cornmeal-crusted empanadas at this little luncheonette/minimarket come with a variety of fillings, most unique to Venezuela (like the national specialty pabellon, shredded beef similar in texture to ropa vieja but with a more sweet/sour taste). Skip the fishy cazon (shark) model for the signature crema, filled with chicken, bacon, and farmer cheese. But don't miss the light, grainy arepas or operadas (basically an empanada-shaped arepa), especially if your only acquaintance with these thicker cornmeal cakes are the leaden, sodden packaged ones from the supermarket. Stuffed even more generously than the empanadas with Venezuelan standards like reina pepiada (chicken salad) or asado negro (pot roast, caramelized black), these meal-size creations make a bargain portable breakfast or lunch.

3 articles

La Latina

3509 NE Second Ave. Midtown/Wynwood/Design District

305-571-9655

Venezuelan, Latin American, Recommended, Best Of, Menu

It's often the tiniest of places that go unnoticed for months. Then someone stumbles across them, loves them, and spreads the word so much that the little spaces become booming hot spots. That is exactly what happened to La Latina, a "new" areperia on NE Second Avenue, just east of midtown. Cheese and sweet plantain empanadas, pabellon empanadas, and pelua arepas are made with 100 percent gluten-free cornflour and meats that are antibiotic- and hormone-free. It's not to say the place screams Latin health food; it's more of an undertone like, "Hey, we have great food, and it's not bad for you."

17 articles

Leal Bistro

2700 NW Miami Av. Midtown/Wynwood/Design District

786-542-5246

Venezuelan

Maíz Project

1601 Drexel Ave., Miami Beach South Beach

Venezuelan

1 article

Milly's Empanada Factory

13911 SW 66th St. West Kendall

305-791-1848

Venezuelan

2 articles

Mr. Good Stuff

Various locations/Food truck Midtown/Wynwood/Design District

Comfort Foods, Street Food, Venezuelan, Food Trucks, Best Of

To read more about this food truck, click here.

4 articles

Parrillada Familiar Da Silva

10720 NW 58th St. Doral

305-477-4646

Venezuelan

Pepito Arepa Bar

10701 NW 58th St. Doral

305-436-8633

Venezuelan, Best Of

1 article

Pepitolandia

10201 NW 58th St. Doral

786-431-5399

Venezuelan, Sandwiches, Best Of

1 article

Salsa Fiesta Urban Mexican Grill

2929 Biscayne Blvd. Midtown/Wynwood/Design District

305-400-8245

Mexican, Venezuelan, Best Of, Menu

For a place with salsa in its name, this Mexican fast-food joint sure doesn't offer much comida típica. The uninspired-looking salsa bar that once offered only two versions -- red and green -- now also stocks a hot cabbage and the same green variety as before, just a tad spicier. And although they seem visually uninspiring, all four of those condiments are capable of striking up a fiesta in your mouth. For instance, the fire-roasted tomato salsa (with chunks of charred tomato), like the hot cabbage, finishes with a pleasantly spicy bite, while the green tomatillo blend cools the palate (unless you want to bump it up a notch with the tamarindo medium salsa). Not bad for an imported chain that, thanks to husband-wife pair Cesar Olivo and Adriana Perez Benatar, has taken over Venezuelan food courts. Try the Fresca 29th Street salad, featuring a cabbage, carrot, and mango mix sitting pretty in a tortilla shell. It'll set you back only $7.50 to $8.99, depending on the meat you choose; we suggest chicken marinated with chipotle peppers in lemon and orange juices and adobo. If you're feeling more gluttonous, take for a whirl the Mero Macho taco -- stuffed with beans, lettuce, and sour cream; topped with Monterey Jack and cheddar cheeses; and served with chimichurri salsa. Or try the Tostada Fiesta ($8.99), a platter that consists of a crisp corn tostada piled high with layers of black beans; chicken, ground beef, or carnitas; and homemade guac. It's accompanied by well-prepared tostones and a salad topped with pico de gallo. Or if you're watching carbs, the Urban Bowl ($8 to $9) is a flour-free burrito. Sides-wise, the tostones are massive, crisp, soft, and usually perfectly cooked. Salsa Fiesta is a great spot for a fast and pleasant lunch.

9 articles

Tequeñomania

10201 NW 58th St., #103 Doral

786-502-4084

Venezuelan, Fast Food, South American

Venezuelan in Miami

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