Venezuelan in Denver

This cozy corner of Venezuelan cuisine features the namesake empanadas, plus fat arepas made from white-corn flour and a few hard-to-find appetizers like tequeños (fried dough sticks), cachapas (corn-flour pancakes) and mashed yucca. Additional treats include South American soft drinks and fried plantain -- both the sweet, ripe slices and the starchier chips made from the green fruit. Service is relaxed but friendly, so don't go if you're in a hurry -- but if you don't mind the slow pace, the food is worth the wait. Empanada Express Grill has no liquor license, but the fresh fruit juices -- cantaloupe, passion fruit, pineapple, coconut, papaya, guava and mango -- will hit the spot if you're looking for more than canned soft drinks.

Quiero Arepas is aptly named. The arepas made in this gourmet truck by chef Igor Panasewicz, who was born in Maracaibo, Venezuela, are crave-worthy: golden, griddled corn cakes stuffed with an array of smoked meats, fresh cheeses, savory vegetables and more, wrapped in foil and served piping hot. The menu changes at every stop, and there’s always a vegetarian or vegan option in the rotating roster of dozens of arepas. The truck makes frequent stops to breweries around town, and just a glance at the calendar (conveniently filled out weeks in advance on the Quiero Arepas website) showcases the popularity of Panasewicz’s creations. He and his wife, Beckie, seek out the best produce from local farmers and use organic, all-natural ingredients wherever they can, so that the shifting seasons are reflected in the menu. It’s no wonder there’s a line outside the truck almost everywhere it stops!

When you only make one thing, you’d better make it right. Igor and Beckie Panasewicz had compiled more than a decade of experience serving Venezuelan cuisine from their food truck and at the Avanti food hall when they finally opened their own Platt Park brick-and-mortar in 2019. Their experience shows in the restaurant’s succulent meats, fluffy corn-flour shells, savory black beans, sweet plantains and tangy sauces loaded with lime and cilantro.

The folks behind the Little Pub Company opened Will Call in late 2014 in the Industry development on Brighton Boulevard; the eatery features Venezuelan-style arepas as its main menu attraction. Little Pub Company head Mark Berzins says the concept was the result of several different factors: the need to provide high-volume lunch service to employees of the businesses inside the 120,000-square-foot office center, the desire to provide something unique to a young and artistic RiNo neighborhood, and a little Venezuelan inspiration from a vacation in Connecticut, of all places. Will Call's name and funky style, which mixes hard industrial form and reclaimed â??70s decor. also embraces Industry's warehouse and manufacturing roots.