Casa Ora
Most of the city’s Venezuelan eateries are cheap and cheerful counter service joints serving the diaspora of Venezuelans living in NYC to escape the political and economic chaos of their home country. Casa Ora, by contrast, is a glossy, fine-photography filled, sit down restaurant with grander ambitions. Run by a mother/son duo—he’s cooked at some of the best restaurants in New York City, she did so in Caracas back in the early 1980’s (when Venezuela was one of the wealthiest countries on earth)—the menu hops from internationally-known Venezuelan dishes like arepas and empanadas, to elevated plates of their own devising, like a monkfish wrapped in ripe plantain and smothered in cheese, caramelized coconut milk, and pepper sauce that’s a sweet-and-sour enchantment. Venezuelan rum-based cocktails are nicely balanced, and will have you dancing in your seat—or is that the kicky soundtrack of dance music (played at conversation-allowing levels)?
Most of the city’s Venezuelan eateries are cheap and cheerful counter service joints serving the diaspora of Venezuelans living in NYC to escape the political and economic chaos of their home country. Casa Ora, by contrast, is a glossy, fine-photography filled, sit down restaurant with grander ambitions. Run by a mother/son duo—he’s cooked at some of the best restaurants in New York City, she did so in Caracas back in the early 1980’s (when Venezuela was one of the wealthiest countries on earth)—the menu hops from internationally-known Venezuelan dishes like arepas and empanadas, to elevated plates of their own devising, like a monkfish wrapped in ripe plantain and smothered in cheese, caramelized coconut milk, and pepper sauce that’s a sweet-and-sour enchantment. Venezuelan rum-based cocktails are nicely balanced, and will have you dancing in your seat—or is that the kicky soundtrack of dance music (played at conversation-allowing levels)?
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