Empanada Express Grill

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.