Arepas, tequeños and other homemade fare on the menu at the Midtown restaurant
VeneBites is a terrific Tallahassee restaurant you may have missed. Time to change that. The Midtown cafe is a friendly oasis, serving made-from-scratch Venezuelan cuisine.
The place is nearly hidden on a small street tucked between Thomasville Road and Monroe Street, but once you discover this sunny spot, you’ll be anticipating your next visit.
VeneBites offers an array of Venezuelan dishes, including arepas, empanadas, tostones and churros. Photo / VeneBites. Top photo / sancocho, a hearty beef and vegetable stew, photo also via VeneBites.
VeneBites’ culinary repertoire includes arepas, platters, empanadas, sides such as cachitos (ham pastries), tequeños (white cheese wrapped in a crisp dough ), sancocho (soup/stew), pasticho (Venezuelan-style lasagna), quesadillas and on occasion, paella – and the menu keeps expanding.
Abraham Quintero and Lida Yajure, the co-owners of VeneBites, in the restaurant’s dining room. Photo / Tallahassee Table
On July 27, Lida Yajure and her business partner, chef Abraham Quintero, will be celebrating their fourth year at the helm of VeneBites. Lida was an investor when the place opened with different owners in 2019.
“At that point, I was a silent partner and a full-time surgical nurse,” said Lida. When her partners decided to leave the business, Lida decided to make the plunge. It was 2020 and Covid was wreaking havoc on people and businesses.
It was particularly hard on her and her family because her father died of Covid.
“I’m a nurse and we were sent home when elective surgeries were canceled during Covid,” Lida said. “I thought that if I’m ever going to try anything at the restaurant it was the perfect time.”
But during the height of Covid, and even the following years, was a tough time to run a restaurant.
“It felt like we were suspended in a blender the past few years,” Lida said. “We’re in Midtown but there are still a lot of people who don’t know we’re here. But we’re just finally hitting the ground.”
Forging a new path
Lida is originally from San Felipe, the capital city of Yaracuy in Venezuela. She attended Tallahassee State College, Florida State University and finished her nursing degree at St. Petersburg College.
Lida met Abraham through mutual friends. He’s professionally trained in culinary arts in Venezuela and he also studied and cooked in Peru. He had been a customer at VeBites, often offering his suggestions. Abraham was working in construction when Lida got in touch with him.
“It was like a magic coincidence,” Lida said. “I told him, ‘Now it’s your turn.’ We had a full menu that was already set up but no recipes. He had to recreate all the recipes.”
Abraham not only developed those recipes. He’s added his own creative touch and expanded the menu. On Father’s Day, Abraham made elegant paella platters.
‘Everything is fresh’
The food at VeneBites “is like home cooking, like your mama cooking for you,” said Abraham, originally from Valencia. “Everything is fresh and made from scratch. Nothing processed or canned.”
Lida noted that they use King Arthur flour, which does not contain bleach, bromate or artificial preservatives for their tequeños and cachitos. For arepas, they use corn meal called harina pan, which is gluten free, making arepas gluten free.
If you can stop by when VeneBites is making cachapas, it’s a really good day. They buy field corn from farms when available then grind the corn and make corn pancakes.
Abraham occasionally prepares paella at VeneBites. Photo / Tallahassee Table
It’s a labor of love for Abraham, who has enjoyed cooking since he was a boy.
Abraham occasionally prepares paella at VeneBites. Photo / Tallahassee Table
“I used to watch my aunt cooking,” Abraham said.
When he was old enough, he helped with the soup and then other dishes.
“She would tell me what to add and stir the pot,” Abraham said.
Nancy Montes, Lida’s mom, displays a plate of just-cooked pasticho or Venezuelan lasagna. Photo / Tallahassee Table
He has stirred the pot at VeneBites by cooking dishes such as pasticho, a creamy cheesy Venezuelan version of lasagna; hamburgers made with caramelized onions and avocado in the patties; sancocho, a hearty beef and vegetable stew; and patacon, an elaborate plate of shredded beef, tostones, cole slaw, cheese and avocado.
Arepa Cochino Frito, stuffed with pork dumplings, cole slaw, sliced avocado and Cheddar cheese is on the long list of arepas at VeneBites. Photo / VeneBites
VeneBites has a lengthy list of at least 20 arepas. Venezuelan-style arepas are traditional cornmeal pockets. They’re naturally gluten free, Lida said.
Arepas are cooked on the griddle so they’re slightly crisp on the outside and soft inside. You can find a wide variety of fillings served with the cornmeal pockets.
Abraham’s arepas range from simple versions with cheese, chicken or tuna salad to more elaborate combinations such as one of our favorites, the arepa de Pabellón – a generous plate filled with shredded beef or pork, black beans and fried sweet plantains in an arepa (so much food, it overflows the arepa).
Arepa de perico, with scrambled eggs, and tequeños (we had already gobbled a bunch) are among the favorites at VeneBites. Photo / Tallahassee Table
You’ll also find egg arepas that work any time of day, but we enjoyed the arepa de perico on a Sunday morning. The arepa is filled with scrambled eggs spiked with chopped and sautéed onions, green bell peppers, green tomatoes and jalapeño peppers. It’s homey and bold at the same time, with flavors that pop.
VeneBites also features platters such as patacon al ajillo, with succulent shrimp in garlic sauce. Photo / Tallahassee Table
Patacon al ajllo is another favorite dish. The platter features plump shrimp in a fragrant buttery garlic sauce served with sliced avocado and pico de gallo.
Tequeños are a can’t-miss treat. You can buy orders of five or 10. If that sounds like a lot, you’ve never had a tequeño. They’re irresistible. VeneBites calls them “white cheese fingers wrapped in crispy dough.”
VeneBites serves Venezuelan beer, cafe con leche and other coffee choices plus chica – a Venezuelan rice drink similar to Mexico’s horchata.
Tres Leches is one of the desserts made by Lida at VeneBites. Photo / Tallahassee Table
Lida makes the desserts, which include a scrumptious tres leches, a sponge cake soaked in three kinds of milk: evaporated milk, condensed milk and whole milk topped with whipped cream. Lida also makes flan and churros (fried dough dusted with sugar and cinnamon), with dips of Nutella or chocolate.
VeneBites also offers a kids’ menu featuring tequeños, chicken bites, mini hamburgers and salchipapas (hot dogs with French fries and pink sauce).
The deck at VeneBites is filled with plants, thanks to the green thumb of chef Abraham. Photo / Tallahassee Table
Along with the food, VeneBites is a fun destination. The outside wood deck is covered with a tent top (the other top was ruined during the tornadoes) and it’s brightened by lots of plants, another passion for the chef.
Quintero did so well with orchids he grows on the patio that customers have begun bringing their lackluster plants for him to rescue, which he does. Abraham now also has lots of cacti, most in clay pots.
“It’s my therapy,” Abraham said. Customers ask him for tips all the time. “People ask me – how do you do it? I say ‘Love, water; love, water; love, water.’”
Lida, right, with her mom, Nancy at VeneBites. Photo / Tallahassee Table
Inside, customers order at the counter and the food is brought to the table. One of the friendly faces behind the counter is Lida’s mother, Nancy Montes.
VeneBites offers a private room. Photo / Tallahassee Table
VeneBites can accommodate 67 people inside and out, plus there’s a private dining room that seats about 15 to 20. There’s no official charge but VeneBites will add a $5 per plate fee that goes right into the tip jar for service, Lida said. People can order individually, or the party can order an arepa bar with lots of arepas and fillings.
At times, there’s entertainment at VeneBites. Stop by on July 27 for Latin night with DJ Hender. More details below.
More to come
Lida and Abraham are working on several projects to continually enhance their restaurant.
“We don’t just want people to come and get something to eat,” Lida said. “We want them to like the ambiance, to enjoy the experience.”
Fans do rave about their experiences at the restaurant.
“We love VeneBites,” said customer Alix Kalfin. “I usually order the arepa catira (with shredded chicken and shredded white sharp white cheese) but all the arepas I’ve tried have been delicious. Make sure you add cheese if your arepa doesn’t come with it.
“Also, you must order the tequeños,” Alix said. “There’s plenty of room inside and outside on the cute patio. You can’t go wrong at VeneBites.”
If you go ….
Venebites is at 217 E. Third Ave.; 850-727-7641.
Website: https://www.venebites.com/
Hours: 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday to Friday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturdays and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday.
Entertainment: July 27 is Latin night with DJ Hender — and the rumba — from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. Enjoy Venezuelan dishes with Polar beer. It’s $10 for men and free for women; ages 21+.