Food

Among fast food are Arepas (the famous are Reina Pepiada and Domino), Hallacas (you can eat this on xmas), Cachapas (with a cheese called "telita" is delicious), also Empanadas (you can find them in any beach and in street stands, use your good judgement went you select a street place to eat) and the best "Perros Calientes"(Hot Dogs). The arepa is the most common Venezuelan food item. It's basically a biscuit that is made out of cornmeal and you can fill it in with any type of food that you want, carne mechada which is shredded beef and which tastes really good. It is called "comida criolla", or Creole food. For slow food, try delicious fish meals, or shrimp soup Cazuela de Mariscos. The traditional Venezuelan lunch is El Pabellón, but is not usually sold at restaurants, just in small family businesses, is mainly rice, black beans, and meat, it also has fried plantain slices. You can also find nice sweets made mainly of sugar. Venezuelan chocolate is really good, especially from a brand named El Rey. It's not that cheap compared with other venezuelan prices but it's still cheap compared to American or European prices, and certainly worth the extra expenditure.

Drink

The most popular beer brand is Polar, which is available in a low calorie version (Polar Light), light version (Polar Ice), or premium version (Solera). Brahma and Regional are other beers available throughout the country. Whisky is very popular among Venezeulans, particularly for special events. Venezuelan-made rum is generally dark and of very good quality. Among the best is the "1796" brand from Santa Teresa. It is a Solera rum.

A popular non-alcoholic drink is called "chicha Andina," which is made from pineapple and corn flour.

Maltín is a carbonated non-alcoholic malt drink sold alongside regular soft drinks, although it is also manufactured by the Polar company. Venezuelan coffee is excellent and a vital part of local culture.