My pops was hungry but didn’t want to venture from his home base of Westchester. I suggest we travel to Sweetwater to have some Venezuelan comfort food.
Initially, I thought the Charles and Larry restaurant was in the same strip mall where I took Kenpo classes as a kid. I was wrong; it’s a little farther up the street.
I do all the ordering when I’m with my dad since I know what he likes. Plus, we have similar tastes, which is why he’s a great eating partner.
We start with the Charles & Larry Samples: 2 mini arepas, 2 tostones, 2 tequeños (cheese stick wrapped in dough), 2 mini mandocas (onion ring-shaped fried cornmeal), 2 mini empanadas with queso rallado (shredded cheese), nata (like sour cream but not very sour) y salsa de la casa (house special sauce).
It’s a solid starter and a great snacking platter if you are binge-watching a streaming program. The mini arepas were my favorites.
Speaking of arepas, the chorizo arepa was the next to arrive. This fella is stuffed with shredded white cheese and chopped-up chorizo with a side of pico de gallo. It’s another winner, but I can’t help but think it needs something else.
Torpedos = Hot Dogs
The hot dogs at Charles & Larry are called torpedos. It’s a hefty dog with parmesan cheese, potato sticks, ketchup, house special sauce, and slaw (not for me). I replaced the slaw with a mini slab of white cheese.
In my head, I was expecting fried cheese, not a cold piece of white cheese. I love cheese as much as the next guy, but I like hot meals. It could have been a winner without the cold slab.
Charles & Larry has a Nica Burger?
It’s not a surprise that Charles & Larry has a Nica burger since they are located in the Sweetwater, which has the highest concentration of Nicaraguans in the United States.
The Nica burger is a half-pound chargrilled burger with melted white cheese, jalapeños, and fried sweet plantains (platanitos) on a very pedestrian sesame seed bun.
WOW!!! I was not expecting that; what a great burger. Those are some flavors I can get behind, and it had no sauce.
My pops and I shared it happily, thinking about our next visit. What I mean by that is we’re not sharing the Nica burger the next time!
Charles & Larry
10504 W Flagler Street
Miami, FL
(786) 618-5940
Website – https://charlesylarry.net
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/charlesylarry
Monday 8:30 am – 12:00 am
Tuesday 8:30 am – 12:00 am
Wednesday 8:30 am – 12:00 am
Thursday 8:30 am – 12:00 am
Friday 8:30 am – 3:00 am
Saturday 9:30 am – 3:00 am
Sunday 9:30 am – 12:00 am