Venezuelan and a Bit of Italian

There is a new Venezuelan restaurant just a couple blocks away from my condo.  On Friday Alejandro and I decided to try it out.  It is a little hole-in-the-wall place.  The menu is written on a blackboard on the wall... and on another blackboard there is written an obscenity about the Venezuelan dictator Maduro.  

Alejandro and I each started off with an "arepa".  The "arepa" is the cornerstone of the Venezuelan diet.  It is a grilled patty of corn dough.  Mine with stuffed with cheese, and Alejandro's with chicken.

We each ordered a main dish called "pabellón".  It consists of seasoned shredded beef, fried plantains, rice garnished with avocado, and black beans.  The beans had a unique flavor.  They tasted as if they had been cooked with honey.

The food was simple but very tasty.  As Alejandro said, it was "comida casera"... home cooking.  We would definitely go there again.

Just down the street, we found a "gelatería", a shop selling gelato.  We stopped there for a dessert of Italian ice cream.  The owner was chatting with us, and said that the gelato was authentically Italian.  I have never been to Italy, so I can't really judge, but it certainly tasted great to me.

Just what I needed.  Two more places just a stone's throw from my place tempting me to break my efforts to diet.