The Westport food scene, quite honestly, is not all that enthralling for a high schooler. Besides your run-of-the-mill hibachi, Mexican, and diner hangouts, the local fare is not anything to write home about.

If Tengda and Five Guys just isn’t cutting it for you, head west.

Cross the threshold into an exotic land, where a gentle breeze beckons you into the tropical sunshine, and the Amazon Rainforest seems within an arm’s reach—follow the Post Road all the way to Norwalk and visit Valencia Luncheria.

Although you’re still in Fairfield County, this is a special place where one bite can take you 2,500 miles away, all the way to Venezuela.

The menu consists of a wide variety of Venezuelan foods, including the likes of ceviche, arroz con pollo, and paella. The two of us decided to try a couple of different categories of foods: arepas (corn cakes that can be fried or skillet roasted and stuffed with just about anything, from plantains to chorizo to peanut butter and jelly), empanadas (flaky pastry shells filled and fried that can serve as appetizers, whole meals, or even dessert), batidos (fresh fruit blended with milk and ice), and jugos, which is simply Spanish for juices.

Bryan: I’m a smoothie lover, so I immediately gravitated toward the smoothies. The papaya in the papaya batido is clearly freshly cut, and the drink itself is delicious. It’s light and frothy, with a yogurty texture. Most of all, it’s simple. The drink would probably be best on a hot summer day, but I could enjoy it year round.

Ben: I’m a sucker for anything that has mango in it, so when I saw that the menu listed freshly-juiced mango to order, I had to get it. Quite honestly, I’ve never had a fresher drink in my life. I could tell that the mango was literally cut and blended two minutes before I started drinking it. There was a sort of mango pulp in it too, which, when you bite into it, bursts with even more mango-ness.

Bryan: I also tried the Chicha, which is a rice shake. It tastes like a thinner version of rice pudding, which I love, so there are no complaints from me. I especially love the bits of rice “pulp.” They also sprinkle a bit of cinnamon on top, so it’s more of a fall or winter drink than a summer refreshment.

Ben: The Carne Mechada arepa is one of the simplest arepas on the menu, containing one simple protein: beef. But it’s far from boring. The shredded meat, which is inspired by a classic Puerto Rican pot roast recipe, has a texture reminiscent of pulled pork. But it is folded in with a distinct mixture of Latin American spices that remind you that you are certainly not in Dixie.

Bryan: The sauce, which is mixed in with the beef, is warm, sweet, and far from spicy, which may be a let-down for those who prefer the kick of South American hot sauce. The bun is a little too heavy and detracts from the flavor of the meat, but it’s so simple that it works. The red peppers add color and warm flavor.

Ben: And while I personally loved the golden aesthetic and crunch of the arepa bun with the Carne Mechada, I wish the bun was served hotter—a heightened temperature certainly would have added to the flavor and texture complexity to the dish, since the spices do not really contribute to the heat factor.

Bryan: With the most ingredients of any arepa on the menu, my eyes were drawn to the Carlo, which contains chicken, cheese, avocado, and a thin layer of fennel. Fennel is an extremely flavorful ingredient, almost peppery and anise-y, so I knew the Carlo would not disappoint.

Ben: While I can’t stand avocado on its own, it can add both a creamy flavor and texture to almost anything, and I think it works perfectly with this arepa—the way it blends with the flavorful chicken is my favorite part of the dish.

Bryan: Personally, I think the chicken has less flavor than the Carne Mechada, but the other ingredients make up for its blandness. Unlike Ben, I love to eat avocado straight up, although this avocado was bit hard. It is definitely fresh, though, and counters the warm meat perfectly. The cheese has a sharp, unexpected bite to it.

Ben: Next, we tried the Beef Picadillo empanada. Picadillo, which is a traditional Latin American dish with a texture similar to what most Staples students would know as corned beef hash, is made with ground meat, tomatoes, and a variety of spices.

Bryan: This is the perfect meat pie and reminds me of Jamaican meat pies, only without the spice. It’s simple, but not bland and holds enough meat to constitute a small meal.

Ben: This empanada was my favorite part of the whole meal. The beef filling was spicy and savory, while the crust was unbelievably flaky and buttery. Occasionally, I would be bored with the soft crust toward the middle of the empanada, but I was able to move toward the end of the dish and get a really nice crunch from the folded ends, which were so carefully done that they almost looked like braids.

Bryan: Lastly, to try a sweet component of the menu (and also as a personal treat), we went for the peanut butter and Nutella empanada. The light, flaky crust works well with the thick, chunky peanut butter and sweet Nutella. It is a bit simple, though, and the majority of the empanada was filled with air. It could have used more filling because the mass of heavy liquid pooled at the bottom is overwhelming. It’s hard to go wrong, though, with such delicious ingredients.

Ben: I strongly disagree with Bryan, and think that the air space was what made it so good. Since that space expanded as the empanada cooked, it created a trap for the heat, which I thought 100 percent paid off the end; when I cut my empanda in half, the hot peanut butter and Nutella mixture oozed out onto the plate, which added not only to the aesthetic appeal of the dish, but certainly the taste. Melted peanut butter and melted Nutella inside a buttery, flaky empanada crust? There’s literally nothing wrong with that. At all.

Long story short, there’s absolutely no reason why “Valencia” shouldn’t become a common phrase in the Staples vernacular, like “the diner,” or “Sakura.” Although the restaurant may only seat 20, which may make for a long wait on a busy Saturday afternoon, the outrageously cheap prices and the high quality of food make Valencia Luncheria a destination restaurant for any Staples student.

Final Grades
Ben: A
Bryan: A-