Emily Gaeta, Reporter
If you’re looking for good food that won’t leave your wallet empty then Valencia Luncheria is for you. Located on Main Street in Norwalk, this hotspot serves up Venezuelan dishes every day of the week. Even though you’re in the middle of Norwalk, during the summer you can dine out front in the sand. Their outdoor seating area is completely covered in sand and helps you feel like you’re on the beach. Another fun thing Valencia offers is their pajama brunch. The first Saturday of every month they encourage customers to come in their PJ’s, and the staff of Valencia takes part in it also.
General info:
164 Main Street, Norwalk (Click here for Google maps directions)
203-846-8009
Parking Tips:
Parking is really difficult in this area, even though there’s a small parking lot behind Valencia it is super tight. And if you’re like me and don’t want to test your parking skills in a very cramped lot then luckily for you there’s another parking lot across the street. Directly across from Valencia, there is a much larger parking lot that is way less stress-inducing to park in. The parking lot belongs to the store Artists Market and some of the parking spots are strictly reserved for Artists Markets patrons and are labeled so with red signs. However, there are some spots which are available for the general public, which are a great place to park when you’re going to Valencia.
Price:
Breakfast: As low as $3.50 for an arepa and $9.50 for an omelet. Brunch specials are a little more expensive topping at $18.00 for a huge serving of Lobster Benedito’s and as low as $12.00 for one of my personal favorites, Dulce De Leche & Apple Stuffed French Toast.
Lunch & Dinner: The two least inexpensive items on the lunch menu are empanadas at $3.00 and $4.00 for arepas. The “Specialties” part of the menu is more expensive, with the most expensive item is $16.50. The dinner menu has a lot of similar dishes to the lunch such as the options for sides, empanadas, and Arepas, but they also have some differences offering appetizers and entrees
Recommendations:
It’s so hard to pick my favorite items from the menu because it’s all amazing, but here are my go-to orders. One thing I order regardless if it’s breakfast, lunch, or dinner, is a Batido. A Batido is a smoothie like drink that contains fresh fruit blended with milk and ice.
Brunch: If you want something sweet, than dulce de leche & apple stuffed french toast is the way to go. If you want something more on the savory side then the Ruff Rider is my favorite, the Ruff Rider features fried eggs over a crisp corn tortilla with refried beans, salsa ranchera, guacamole, sour cream, and cheddar. Or if you’re indecisive and want both savory and sweet they hey little piggy french toast is my all time favorite french toast. In between the two slices of thick bread are over easy eggs, bacon, and queso.
Lunch/Dinner: I couldn’t choose only one of my two favorite arepas, the TOTGA, and the Zach arepa. An arepa is a handmade corn cake which is fried or skillet-roasted and stuffed with your choice of fillings. The TOTGA arepa, which is an everything arepa, meaning they add the same stuff on everything bagels into the corn cake. Its stuffed with ground beef, bacon, and cream cheese. Which yes, sounds a little weird but is absolutely amazing. The Zach arepa is filled with crispy chicken and honey, which is also delicious. Next up is empanadas, which is pastry dough that is stuffed and fried. My favorite empanada is actually a really simple one, the cheeseburger empanada. Yes, it’s as exactly as it sounds, stuffed with ground beef and cheese, a fun twist on something we’ve all had. If you’re looking to order something to split with friends than you can never go wrong with their chips and guac or their yucca fries.
