Where to Eat Venezuelan Food in Doral, Florida

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Arepas, Plantains and Patacóns, OH MY!

What is Doral, Florida known for? Some people would say this Miami neighborhood is known as the location of Donald Trump’s resort. Some people would say it is known for being the home of many Fortune 500 companies. In our house, it is known for delicious food from locally-owned establishments.

I could say that the reason why I chose to eat at La Coriana Restaurant in Doral (Miami), Florida is because:

• I have learned the small, Mom & Pop restaurants in shopping centers are often the best food around.
• Plantains are rich in fiber and vitamins A, C, and B-6.

Both of these things are very true, but they are not the real reasons why I chose to eat at La Coriana. The truth is that:

• Food experimentation (within reason) makes me really, really happy.
• The restaurant was less than one mile from our digs at the Aloft Doral.
• I wanted to compare La Coriana to my only other Venezuelan dining experience, Q’Kenan in Orlando. (Read that article here).

We try never to eat at restaurants that are deserted. If locals aren’t eating there, that isn’t a good omen. We decided to risk it this time. La Coriana has half a dozen tables that were all empty at 2:00pm. Latin cultures often eat dinner quite late in the evening (8:00 or 9:00 pm), so lunch at 3:00pm isn’t strange. By 2:45pm, this restaurant vibe was another story entirely. Diners for both eat-in and take-out were steadily streaming in the door.

During our time in Miami, we ate there twice. We ordered a ton of items to share over several meals.

• A beef empanada
• A chicken empanada
• A pork arepa
• A chicken arepa
• A chicken pastelito
• A steak patacón

In the end, the vote was slightly split in our household. My husband liked their arepas better than the ones at Q’Kenan in Orlando and I did not. My husband prefers the texture of the fried dough on Cuban and other empanadas better than the smooth texture of the Venezuelan version. I disagree. I love the smooth texture, but I will never reject an empanada of any kind.

Arepas

The exterior patty of an arepa is made from ground maize dough. In Orlando it was soft and could have been picked up and eaten like an over-stuffed sandwich, if it hadn’t been so hugely over-stuffed with meat and cheese. In Miami, the arepa was trying for crispy, but I thought they were hard. It was still full of goodies, necessitating eating it with a knife and fork. However, the crisp texture meant when you tried to cut it or bite into it, all the filling just squeezed out. The fillings were still delicious, but I prefer a softer arepa.

Pastelitos VS. Empanadas

Supposedly, the differences between an empanada and a pastelito come down to the size and the dough. Pastelitos are smaller and have a thin dough that is often crimped at the edges. Empanadas are larger and have a thicker dough that is often rolled at the edges. I believe that, technically, Pastelito are Cuban, but overall, they are found in Caribbean and South American food, so I see why La Coriana serves them.

I love the soft, smooth texture of Venezuelan empandas. The exterior doesn’t get crisp in the same way that Cuban empanadas do, and somehow that’s okay with me. The beef fillings of both are more flavorful in my opinion. I often try the chicken or pork at new restaurants for variety. I like to give a new (to me) establishment lots of chances to impress me. At La Coriana, just like at most places, the beef is better. The flavors pop. It is truly savory.

Patacón

OK, so here’s where my love of experimentation comes in. I had to Google this item before I decided to order. What I discovered is that a patacón is when you take a plantain, slice it lengthwise, flatten it, and fry it. You then treat two slabs of it like bread and fill it with grilled meat/cheese/grilled veggies.

I selected a steak patacón and I would absolutely order it again. It was good quality steak (no fat) that was well-seasoned. The plantain is an unusual experience, but it worked. It is dense, so don’t picture a hash brown. The center of a hash brown is much lighter and fluffier than a plantain. Be aware that it is very filling due to the density and the size. If you eat the entire thing, you won’t be eating anything else. I split mine into several portions, so that I could try portions of other items too.

I should also mention that the patacón was $7.00 and it was the most expensive menu item we tried. Most of the others were between $2.50 and $3.00, making this a very economical way to eat lunch out. I look forward to eating at La Coriana again. There are still more menu items that I haven’t tried, and I trust them now to give me food that is delicious and fresh.

WARNING: There are two kinds of businesses in Miami: those that speak limited English and those that don’t speak any. Here the menu is in Spanish with no translation. You’ll need to do your research like I did before you go. It’s the only way to know what you’re getting because you often can’t ask questions unless you are bilingual.