When you 'do' come to the Island ......you have to try two drinks sold everywhere ..(1) being a Chicha and (2) a Cocada. They are sooo delicious and very inexpensive. A chicha is a drink made of rice, water, ice and condensed milk..it is very tasty..and if you want they will put cinnamon on top. A cocada is basically coco juice & milk in a blender with ice. Its served very cold almost like slush but tastes great!

A few meals to eat if you come to Margarita ....Especially meals with chicken cooked diferent ways- 'milanesa de pollo' /breaded chicken steak; 'pollo a la plancha' (grilled chicken, it's very good).... and much more. In regards to meat, try a few of these .... Parrilla de Lomito (in spanish)- Grilled tender Loin, is one of my favorite dishes. This is a typical plate of Venezuela..therefore, you can find it all over the country. It's very tasty you should try it.

For those of you who like tropical fruits, Venezuela is a paradise. You have Mango, papaya (lechosa), avocado (aguacate) oranges (naranja), banana (cambur) coconut (coco), passionfruit (parchita), melon (melón), pineapple (piña), guava (guayaba) and soursap (guanábana).

You should also try some traditional dishes like: Arepa (the bread of the venezuela people..instead of bread in many restaurants they serve arepas - a plain fried corn pancake. They are filled with almost anything, including eggs and tomato for breakfast, beef, chicken, ham, sausage, shrimp, cheese, salad and even baby shark. Venezuelans also eat allot of empanada's (Deep-fried cornmeal turnover filled with chicken, ham, cheese, fish (baby shark included or meat), which is very good..they eat this from the beginning of the day til the end of the day. You can find Empanadas anywhere in Margarita and they are so cheap. Usually in little concession stands in Porlamar or down in Plaza Bolivar better known as the walking streets here.

Still hungry ..try a cachito too..this is very cheap and it is a hot croissant filled with chopped ham and or cheese..mmm tastes very good. Trying eating it with a nice cup of cafe con leche (white coffee) this is served in all coffee houses in Margarita. Or if you just prefer a plain black cup of coffee it goes by the name of guayoyo here.

Beer is ubiquitous, and the most popular brand is Polar. Rum, the commonly found spirit, comes in several varieties and is mixed with coke to make Cuba Libre, a favorite drink amongst Venezuelans. Coffee is domestically produced in Venezuela and is the most common hot beverage. And to top off your lunch you can order a 'zambuca', a different kind of drink, and seems to tastes like anis, it comes to the table in fire and with little grains of coffee inside. It's very strong, but good. Okay ..on to the recipes...

Check back often for new recipes .... also please contact us if you would like to add your Venezuelan recipe to this site.