Luvifood

I lived in Venezuela for 18 months as a missionary for my church, so I was delighted to find a Venezuelan restaurant nearby! I make arepas (finely ground corn cakes) and caraotas (black beans) frequently at my house, and my husband and kids love them, so I decided to bring my family here for my birthday dinner. Two of my kids had the Venezuelan hamburger (minus the ham and eggs), and two of my kids had the arepa (one with chicken and cheese, one cheese only). My husband and I shared the parrilla platter (grilled chicken, beef and chorizo sausage, fried arepas, fried yucca, and tostones -- fried, smushed plantain). It was all really tasty. My only hesitation was that the grilled beef, although tasty, was pretty grisly. Maybe a more tender cut of beef would work better? Oh, we also all shared an order of tequeños (flour-dipped Venezuelan cheese sticks deep-fried) and two empanadas - one beef and one chicken. It was all delicious -- especially when you dipped them in the Ajo (garlic) sauce. Delish! For drinks, we tried a Frescolita for the kids (cherry soft drink), and my husband and I had Maltas (fizzy non-alcoholic barley drink). The Malta is Polar brand, which is the best in my opinion. They also had fresh made blackberry juice and passion fruit (parchita) juices. Parchita juice was my favorite in Venezuela, but I will have to have that next time. They also have chicha de arroz (rice drink with cinnamon). And they sell harina PAN for making arepas, so I bought a 5-lb bag. There is a small stage in the corner, so I assume they have live music on occasion. On the walls behind the stage are chalkboards for visitors to sign. It is FULL of names, so they've had plenty of people in to visit! One suggestion for the menu: pabellón, the traditional Venezuelan platter. They have a breakfast version, but I'd love to see it on the dinner menu. The waitress and grill master were both very friendly. Latino music played in the background. If you haven't tried Venezuelan food before, you should give it a try! Oh, quick note. The restaurant is on the BACK SIDE of the strip mall where Domino's is located off of McAndrews & Nicollet. The restaurant name is not on the strip mall sign.