All aboard the international cruise of flavors.......This crazy cruise ship has embarked upon a world tour, with curious and hungry cachers aboard. The itinerary is every country in the world, one restaurant at a time, all without leaving the confines of Central New Jersey. 93rd Stop ... Venezuela!
Join the North Central Jersey Cachers as we venture across the Atlantic Ocean to the South American country of Venezuela!
Wednesday, March 25, 2020 @ 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm
Merey Venezuelan Cuisine
128 Raritan Ave.
Highland Park, NJ
*** If you don’t wish to come aboard the Cruise Ship, you can just swing by the venue to sign the logbook. This restaurant also provides take-out for any item on their menu. ***
Enjoy delicious food and good company as this wacky cruise ship voyages to the South American country of Venezuela!
Venezuelan cuisine has developed over the years in a natural process of history that has involved an amalgamation of races and cultures. Venezuela cuisine is a concoction of African, native Indian and European cuisines that has developed over the centuries. Spanish immigrants, when they invaded Venezuela, contributed their techniques and recipes to the native Indian style of cooking. This increased as these European settlers amalgamated into the native culture. Another dimension was with the arrival of West African culture and cuisine, which has also helped to make Venezuelan cuisine so diverse. The recipes of Venezuela are also affected by Caribbean influences in their flavors, methods of cooking and ingredients.
Venezuelan cuisine varies greatly from one region to another. Food staples include corn, rice, plantains, yams, beans and several meats. Potatoes, tomatoes, onions, eggplants, squashes, spinach and zucchini are also common sides in the Venezuelan diet.
Arepas are a traditional Venezuela food item, which are also the national bread of Venezuela. Stuffed with all kinds of ingredients, these small corn cakes are the hot favorites both among the Venezuelans and the tourists as well. The corn that is used to make Arepas is called masarepa or masa precocida. These corn is pre-cooked and then made into the required recipe.
Cachapas are another traditional Venezuelan dish made from corn. Like arepas, they are popular at roadside stands. They can be made like pancakes of fresh corn dough. The most common varieties are made with fresh ground corn mixed into a thick batter and cooked on a budare, like pancakes; the cachapa is slightly thicker and lumpier because of the pieces from corn kernels. Cachapas are traditionally eaten with Queso de Mano (handmade cheese), a soft, mozzarella-like cheese, and occasionally with fried pork chicharrón on the side. Cachapas can be very elaborate, some including different kinds of cheese, milky cream, or jam. They can be prepared as an appetizer, generally with margarine, or as a full breakfast with hand cheese and fried pork.
World Culinary Cruise Itinerary
1 - Mexico - July 16, 2012
2 - Greece - August 23, 2012
3 - Japan - September 12, 2012
4 - India - October 11, 2012
5 - Russia - November 14, 2012
6 - Poland - December 5, 2012
7 - Ireland - January 22, 2013
8 - France - February 26, 2013
9 - Spain - March 13, 2013
10 - Thailand - April 30, 2013
11 - Portugal - May 28, 2013
12 - United States of America - June 4, 2013
13 - Afghanistan - July 11, 2013
14 - Egypt - August 6, 2013
15 - United Kingdom - September 18, 2013
16 - Sweden - October 16, 2013
17 - Peru - November 6, 2013
18 - Germany - December 20, 2013
19 - Ghana - January 7, 2014
20 - Polynesia - February 19, 2014
21 - Sri Lanka - March 13, 2014
22 - Korea - April 22, 2014
23 - Jamaica - May 22, 2014
24 - Vietnam - June 25, 2014
25 - Mexico - July 23, 2014
26 - Mongolia - August 19, 2014
27 - Persia - September 17, 2014
28 - Philippines - October 15, 2014
29 - Dominican Republic - November 19, 2014
30 - Trinidad - December 10, 2014
31 - Nigeria - January 20, 2015
32 - Lebanon - February 18, 2015
33 - Cuba - March 24, 2015
34 - Brazil - April 21, 2015
35 - Turkey - May 27, 2015
36 - Hungary - June 6, 2015
37 - Canada - July 15, 2015
38 - Guyana - August 31, 2015
39 - Ethiopia - September 8, 2015
40 - Pakistan - October 14, 2015
41 - Columbia - November 24, 2015
42 - Malaysia - December 8, 2015
43 - Argentina - January 20, 2016
44 - Cameroon - February 17, 2016
45 - Taiwan - March 22, 2016
46 - Morocco - April 26, 2016
47 - Costa Rica - May 18, 2016
48 - Uruguay - June 15, 2016
49 - Angola & Mozambique - July 12, 2016
50 - Haiti - August 30, 2016
51 - El Salvador - September 21, 2016
52 - Uzbekistan - October 19, 2016
53 - Puerto Rico - November 29, 2016
54 - Bangladesh - December 13, 2016
55 - Scotland - January 24, 2017
56 - Guatemala - February 22, 2017
57 - Venezuela - March 28, 2017
58 - Indonesia - April 26, 2017
59 - Syria - May 23, 2017
60 - Italy - June 13, 2017
61 - Ecuador - July 18, 2017
62 - Jordan - August 24, 2017
63 - Liberia - September 21, 2017
64 - Cyprus - October 25, 2017
65 - Israel - November 29, 2017
66 - Belize - December 12, 2017
67 - Slovakia - January 30, 2018
68 - Saudi Arabia - February 27, 2018
69 - Ukraine - March 9, 2018
70- Grenada - April 24, 2018
71 - Senegal - May 22, 2018
72 - Australia - June 12, 2018
73 - Honduras - July 24, 2018
74 - Chile - August 7, 2018
75 - Armenia - September 15, 2018
76 - Panama - October 30, 2018
77 - Georgia - November 14, 2018
78 - Côte d’Ivoire - December 18, 2018
79 - Cambodia - January 29, 2019
80 - Bahamas - February 27, 2019
81 - Nepal - March 26, 2019
82 - Finland - April 18, 2019
83 - Nicaragua - May 22, 2019
84 - Switzerland - June 12, 2019
85 - Romania - July 13, 2019
86 - Belgium - August 7, 2019
87 - Bolivia - September 10, 2019
88 - China - October 22, 2019
89 - Austria - November 19, 2019
90 - Greece - December 10, 2019
91 - Japan - January 28, 2020
92 - Spain - February 25, 2020
93 - Venezuela - March 25, 2020
Follow our culinary adventures throughout Central New Jersey with "The Suitcase of Destiny" and chart our virtual cruise around the world with the "World Travel Geocoin."
Where will this ship pull into port next? Only the pink flamingo knows....
