Corn, a staple food in Central and South America, is the best grain for making biofuels and the only crop in which aliens will draw circles. Celebrate the mysterious maize with today’s Groupon: for $5, you get $10 worth of Venezuelan cuisine at Arepas Cafe in Astoria.

Arepas Cafe's menu offers five varieties of pabellon (shredded meat with rice, black beans, and fried sweet plantains), along with more than 15 meat and veggie stuffings for its namesake arepa, corn-based flatbread that's heartier than a tortilla. Preheat your appetite with mini cachapas, sweet-corn pancakes served with melted cheese ($8.94). Arepas options include roast pork-, avocado-, and white-cheese-stuffed mami arepa ($6.75), Riccardo’s truffle-buttered tuna arepa ($6.25), and the pabellon arepa with chicken salad ($6.75). Venezuela's national dish, the pabellon criollo ($11), is a classic combination of shredded beef, black beans and rice, and fried sweet plantains topped with aged white cheese. Wash down stray black beans and Lego helmets with a gulp of Toddy chocolate shake, non-alcoholic Malta Polar, red or white wine, or beer.

Arepas Cafe's chef, Cecilia Serrano, learned authentic Venezuelan cooking from her grandmother and worked in Venezuelan restaurants in the U.S., Venezuela, and Canada for more than 25 years. Her culinary prowess imbues Arepas' arepas with the genuine, full-bodied flavor of the south-of-the-equator originals. Arepas Cafe's décor (wooden bar stools, earth-toned walls, the Venezuelan flag) makes the restaurant as warm and flavorful as her cooking. Stop by for a tonguetastic experience, and splash the streets of Astoria with a Venezuelan cannonball.

Reviews

Arepas Cafe has been featured in New York Magazine and has received very good ratings from Zagat and 4.5 stars from Yelpers:

• The Caracas-born team at this bright, no frills Astoria café turn out at least 20 variations of arepas daily. – Karen Tina Harrison, New York
• The best Venezuelan food in town and the most friendly and welcoming service! I live nearby and go with my husband practically once a week. – AndreaB2164, Zagat member