Orinoco Latin Kitchen (Venezuelan), 22 Harvard St., Brookline Village, MA

Orinoco was PHENOMENAL.  I'd been previously for appetizers and cocktails mid-winter, but it did not compare to the brilliant feast I enjoyed recently!

The Brookline Village location can rapidly become crowded. During my first visit, it was a bit of a challenge awaiting a table at the packed bar which only seats about 8 patrons, but service did not suffer due to the crowd.


This time around, Phil was our server and he was magnificent...knowledgeable of the menu, super attentive, and friendly!  This mades for a great experience!


We indulged on the following amazing dishes:


Antojitos ("small cravings")



Datiles:
Bacon wrapped, almond-filled dates
A smart combination of nutty, savory, and sweet.  The bacon was medium cut, crisp, and smoky.  These small bites were magical!


Tequenos:
Guayanés cheese wrapped in crisp dough served with chipotle ketchup
The chipotle ketchup was a hit...a nice smoky addition to the cheese stick.



Arepas (Traditional Venezuelan grilled corn pocket sandwiches)


Mechada:
Grilled corn pocket stuffed with Venezuelan-style stewed shredded beef
The generous portion of shredded beef was tender and well-seasoned.  The mojo sauce (a freshly made dipping sauce consisting of olive oil, cilantro, garlic, and possibly mint?  It paired well with everything on the table!


Reina pepiada:
Grilled corn pocket stuffed with shredded chicken salad (with mayo), topped with avocado and tomato.  This could have been THE best chicken salad I've EVER tasted!


Empanadas

Verde:
Made with 100% plantain dough and filled with wild mushrooms, piquillo, manchego cheese and salsa verde.  I found these empanadas to be a bit bland, but I blame it on the wonderfully overwhelming flavors to hit my palate just before trying them.  The mojo certainly helped.


Principales


Oysters Rodriguez (A Special):
A Latin play on the traditional dish- Oysters Rockefeller, the Oysters Rodriguez was made with fufu (seasoned, mashed boiled plantain), horseradish, cream, and saute manchego spinach, topped with a deep-fried, crisp oyster.
I'm a huge fan of Oysters Rockefeller.  Oysters Rodriguez really won me over!


Parrilla Caraquena:
Grilled stripsteak, grilled marinated chicken, grilled chorizo, guasacaca (Venezuelan guacamole), and yuca frita served with Orinoco's signature mojo sauce.  Everything on this plate was fantastic.  The meats were grilled and seasoned perfectly!


Orinoco is definitely a must try!  We were informed by Phil that the other two locations (Harvard Square & South End) share the same menus.  The Harvard Square and South End locales both have outdoor seating areas, which of course is a major plus!


www.orinocokitchen.com