"Sure, there are dozens of places where you can get arepa sandwiches, lushly topped Venezuelan burgers, or the thin corn cakes called cachapas, but where can you find the kind of food more often cooked in private homes from Caracas to Maracaibo and in the countryside? Head to El Cocotero, decorated like a farmhouse, to enjoy such rustic pleasures as goat stew, sancocho soup, and the amazing tamales stuffed with chicken, beef, pork, olives, and raisins called hallacas. For street food, check out Cachapas Y Mas in either Inwood or Ridgewood." - Robert Sietsema
