While you’re loading up on all this authentic food, don’t miss the classic beverage, Chicha, a sweet, creamy drink made from rice.

Joan offers Chicha, a fun Venezuelan favorite. Note to self: We each need our own mandoca. We shared a mandoca, which resembles a Venezuelan version of a doughnut but is a sweet ring of cornmeal. I devoured my chicken and beef empanadas, which have a light, flaky shell. My husband is a fan of their hearty agüita e sapo, two fried arepas filled with flavorful, shredded pork, fried cheese, cabbage, ketchup and DéjàVu sauce. Our order of agüita e sapo: two fried arepas filled with pork, fried cheese, cabbage, ketchup and DéjàVu sauce. Joan’s menu features arepas, empanadas and pastelitos (meat-filled patties), tumbarranchos (breaded arepas with stuffing), tequenos (a snack with white cheese wrapped with a crunchy and slightly sweet dough) along with burgers and hot dogs and often specials like fish or chicken with white rice or spaghetti. Aydana said the sauce is made with mayo and various herbs, including cilantro and parsley. Jessica and her daughter Madeline love the pulled pork patacones with chopped ham, boiled egg, raw cabbage, chopped ham, white cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, ketchup and DéjàVu sauce. Patacones are made with fried plantains (green and/or sweet) and filled with your choice of stuffings. “I always get their pork patacones –- they are killer,” she said. I heard about DéjàVu from chef Jessica Bright McMullen, chef/owner of KitchenAble cooking school and catering. About two years ago, he took the leap and launched his food truck. Joan worked for a few companies in Tallahassee, all the while cooking Venezuelan classics for family and friends who praised his dishes, especially his patacones and pastelitos. They decided to move here because of hard conditions in Venezuela. Joan, who had a small market and pizzeria in Maracaibo, and his family came to visit Florida about six years ago. Joan Quiva is from Maracaibo, which is in northwest Venezuela, the second largest city in the country. DejaVu Venezuelan food truck is tucked away in a lot off Thomasville Road.

Dejavu venezuelan food