Venezuelan cuisine

Gracias Robin !

We look forward to your visit !

Awesome news. I love arepas

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Oh. My. Goodness. This is some really good food. I went in for a late lunch today with a friend and left happy, full, and wishing to go back for dinner tonight. We ordered the sugar cane lemonade...totally different taste than any beverage I've ever consumed, it was delicious...tart/sweet/refreshing. One order of the Tequenos please...4 big cheese sticks were crispy and filled with a mild white cheese. Served with a dill/avocado? sauce for dipping. Said sauce also went well on the arepas we ordered. My dining companion got a pescado arepa, it looked incredible...flaky fried whitefish stuffed in a fresh arepa...and I got the Asado Negro (Eye of Round Dark Roast) arepa. Just perfect. I ordered it with everything extra, because I'm that kind of girl...avocado, tomato, cheese....all very fresh. The arepa, for those who have never tried one, is sort of like a hoe cake. Sandwich bread be damned. I'm hopping on the arepa train. I should have paused to take pictures, but I dove in like Michael Phelps into the big pool. Service was great, as we were clueless, and much needed guidance was appreciated. I will be back soon.

Cindy & I were fortunate enough to see "Spirited Away" at Noon over at Tinseltown Cinema. Afterwards we decided to keep a gray day in the background and head over to Middletown to check out Nahyla's Restaurant. When you enter you see a long, wide room with very warm wooden tables and chairs greeting you. We were promptly seated by an extremely friendly lady named Soliana and given two menus to peruse.

Shortly appeared two small bowls of soup with chicken, potato, corn and a dumpling. Served with a slice of lime for that citrus zing it was like a warm welcoming hug to shake of the wet chill of the afternoon.

I was all ready to jump into some arepas stuffed with some different ingredients when my beautiful bride stopped me short with the words Pabellon Criollo, the "National Dish of Venezuela". Not wanting to abandon all hope of arepas, I ordered a single Arepas de Chicharron.

While we waited we chatted with Soliana about the restaurant, Worldfest, travel, Venezuela and the diversity of Louisville. She has a bubbly personality and I wish great things for her, her husband and all the staff.

Things started to appear all at once. First the aromatic, hot arepas dotted with crunchy pig cracklins. Aromatic and succulent at the same time, it reminded me of a thick white grit cake from my childhood. I loved it and will make them the centerpiece of my meal the next time there.

We split the Pabellon Criollo with its shredded beef, black beans, fried eggs and white rice to sop up all the goodness. It too was delicious. We sampled a glass of the cane sugar lemonade and a glass of unsweetened mango iced tea. I mixed the two together for a different version of an Arnold Palmer.

Finished the meal with a superior slice of flan that shone over any imitators. Perfect custard with a muted sweetness. Outstanding in my book.

Great lunch with an extremely talented crew of genuine people happy to serve you a taste of their homeland. We will be back and I hope all of you will join us.

Bienvenidos, indeed!!!!!

[Robin Garr]

Thanks, Ed. Great review!

I went last Thursday with a friend. It was my second time there; her first.

We started out with the Venezuelan Cheese sticks. The menu says they are deep fried, but they were so non-greasy that we could have sworn they were baked. Can you say “Yummo?” They were served with a mayo-cilantro sauce that was to “die for.”

Then we were given complementary cups of the soup of the day, a chicken soup. Honestly, I don’t think I have ever tasted a chicken broth with that depth of flavor! There is a picture of that soup on the Facebook page.

Next we each had an areas. She had the Shredded Beef with Cheddar Cheese; I had the Scrambled Eggs, Sausage and Cheese. I had previously had the shredded beef one. While the scrambled egg version was excellent, of the two, I think I like the shredded beef version better.

We oohed and aahed so much over the mayo-cilantro sauce that the owner brought a sampling of their other three sauces: mayo-catsup, tartar sauce and ? The tartar sauce was so divine that both of us vowed to order the breaded fish arapas next time.

We split a flan for dessert (also pictured on the Facebook page). The best I’ve had in ages. Totally melt in one’s mouth delicious!