Over a year ago, I had just moved to Miami and I was looking for an early morning breakfast place. I remembered eating some delicious Venezuelan arepas from Don Pan that a friend of mine brought me once. I decided to walk there since it was pretty close to my place. I was looking for a Latin American style breakfast: Good coffee, better known as cortadito and home made bread.
Don Pan has 13 locations in Florida. I prefer the location in Kendall:
7700 N Kendall Dr.
Miami, FL 33156
Don Pan is a franchise founded by Venezuelan entrepreneurs that came to The United States. The first Don Pan was opened in Miami, Florida, although the name Don Pan was first used in Venezuela many years before when they started the company. The name is simple, original and easy to remember.
Don Pan offers a wide variety of home made bread, pastries and desert items from Latin America, from countries such as: Colombia, Venezuela, Cuba, Argentina and Mexico. My favorite bread is called “pan de bono”, originally from Colombia. Countries such as Brazil, Bolivia and Argentina also have a similar bread made out of tapioca starch and cheese. Try a cortadito (milk and coffee) and pan de bono, still warm from the oven, for a delicious way to start your morning.
Cortadito, also known as café con leche, is served super hot. A small size would be enough since the coffee is Cuban style which makes it stronger than coffee from Starbucks or any other regular coffee shop in the U.S. Remember not to add more sugar to the coffee! It already has sugar when they serve it to you.
If you are still hungry and want to try something good, yet different, for breakfast or brunch, I highly recommend the Venezuelan Breakfast: You will get an arepa (similar in shape to the Mexican gordita or pupusas from Central America, Arepas are made of cornmeal or flour, at Don Pan they use cornmeal) filled with shredded meat and white cheese (usually they add butter but I always request no butter to lower the calorie intake a little). The arepa is served with two scrambled eggs and trust me: This is enough breakfast to satisfy any appetite. This is definitely not something you want to eat every day unless you want to gain weight like crazy and get a muffin top above your belt, but it is worth trying once in a while to break the routine.
One more thing: Prices are very affordable. Two people can eat with $15, so for those days when your wallet is on a strict diet but not your tummy, go to Don Pan and give it a try, you won’t be disappointed.
