RESTAURANTS
RANCHO
CACIQUE
Located under a pavilion alongside the bay on the North Shore, diagonally
across the boardwalk from Kitzberger, Ranch Cacique is a pleasant place to
enjoy a meal. Offerings are primarily seafood: fish, shrimp, lobster or prawns
prepared in a variety of ways and served with rice, salad and arepa. Fresh
juices are available during the day, but not at dinner. Rancho Cacique has
the added benefit of printing its menu in both English and Spanish, and is
the only restaurant to do so. All in all, the food here is good and the prices
moderate. Rancho Cacique is another one of the more consistent places in town,
usually open every day for lunch and dinner.
POSADA KITZBERGER
Kitzberger operates a full-service restaurant that is open for breakfast,
lunch, and dinner. It is probably the only place you can get a typical American-style
breakfast of coffee, eggs, toast, etc. The lunch and dinner menus are the
same and are heavy on seafood but also offer steak and chicken. Dishes are
primarily Venezuelan-style, with some European accents thrown in. The restaurant
also serves pizza. You won't be fooled into thinking you're in Italy (or even
New York), but the pies are not bad. By Venezuelan standards the restaurant
is slightly expensive, though most foreigners wouldn't notice. Consistent
in both hours and quality, it offers a welcome oasis of escape in its cool,
quiet, and shady interior courtyard.
LOS SARTENES
Los Sartenes has recently relocated (from the boardwalk) to its present location
on Calle Comercio, directly across the street from Carantonia and next to
Guatacarazo. Its menu consists of the typical fish and meats, served with
arepas, salad and fries. The quality is good. Los Sartenes' hours and days
of operation are rather inconsistent, and you may only find them doing business
on some weekends and during holiday periods. When they are open, it is usually
for lunch and dinner.
CHI CHI'S HAMBURGUESA
Chi Chi's, of course, is a hamburger joint. Hamburgers in Venezuela consist
of a not-large patty accompanied by an impressive array of toppings on a bun.
Common toppings include a fried egg (huevo frito), a slice of ham (jamón),
lettuce and tomato (ensalada), mayonnaise (mayonesa), ketchup (salsa de tomate),
and, of course, cheese (queso). Chi Chi's also does a grilled chicken sandwich.
Beer and soda are available to wash it all down, as are a few simple desserts.
A typical, loaded burger is a little over a buck. Chi Chi's also has some
TV sets with Nintendo for rent by the hour, if you are so inclined.
CERVECERIA RESTAURANT EL GUATACARAZO
(A.K.A. BOCCI BAR)
Guatacarazo serves one dish: pan-fried fish with rice, with salad and an arepa
on the side. It's simple, good, cheap, and goes down well with a bottle of
Polar, the nation's most popular beer. The kitchen often closes later than
the other restaurants in town, and it is often the only dinner choice once
you've finally rested, showered, and dressed after a day of sailing that ended
as the sun went down.
AREPERIA The Areperia is open from the late morning until the early afternoon and is located across from where the buses congregate on the main road to Pueblo Nuevo. An areperia is quintessentially Venezuelan, perhaps the country's equivalent to an American lunch counter. It serves the popular arepa stuffed with your choice of any number of ingredients, and calls them "arepas rellenas." Common choices include cheese (queso), fish (pescado), octopus (pulpo), beans (frijoles), vegetable salad (ensalada) and tuna salad (ätún).
MONTECANO
Montecano specializes in pasta, pizza, and Italian dishes. What they have
available will vary greatly night to night. Simple pasta is always available,
but pizza and more complicated dishes are not. It is best to give them a call
or stop by beforehand and speak with Francisco about what you might like to
eat so that they might have the ingredients on hand. Hailing from Italy, Francisco
and his son, also Francisco, make their own bread, and the food in general
is fresh and quite good. Try the Venezuelan wine, Vino Tintura, which is like
spiked grape soda. Wear some mosquito spray, as the location is a bit removed
form the shore breeze. Tel. (58)(069)88-174.
EL GALLEON
(Off the City Map) This traditional Venezuelan restaurant, just off of our
city map, is located a couple hundred meters past the ice factory (Caribe)
on the highway to Pueblo Nuevo, at the corner of the road to El Supí. The
food is quite good and the restaurant is slightly more varied than the restaurants
in town. It also tends to be open later than restaurants in town.
PIZZERIA PANADERIA (Off the City
Map)
This place proved to be a life-saver one night after Montecano stood us up
on pizzas we'd pre-ordered the day before. We wandered down the highway towards
Pueblo Nuevo only to find El Galleon closed. A scout took a right down the
road that goes towards El Supí for about a hundred meters (on the right hand
side) and returned with good news. Though empty of patrons, the lovely duena
(Spanish speaking only) informed us the ovens were hot (wait is forever if
not) and we were treated to three lovely pizza pies and cold beers.