Until a recent trip to Rio de Janeiro I thought Alex Atala at D.O.M. in São Paulo was the only chef diving head first into Amazonian ingredients in Brazil. I was wrong. Another chef, Roland Villard, at Rio’s Le Pré Catelan inside the Hotel Sofitel on Copacabana Beach, is just as intimate with these exotic ingredients. If not, more so. The French chef, serves an 11 Course Amazonian Tasting Menu that ranks among the best meals I have ever had the pleasure of eating.
I’m not exactly sure of what to think of Ecuadorian Delfin Quishpe’s September 11 tribute. Is it comic genius or just innocently bizarre? I saw the video earlier this year and forgot about it until it was brought to my attention the other day. The singer, who calls his music Andean Techno Folklore, was born in a mud hut speaking Quechua in Ecuador’s province of Chimborazo. Most of his videos begin with him sitting at his house and watching the news on TV. In Torres Gemelas, which has been seen more than 7 million times since it was posted on Youtube in 2006, Quishpe sees the news of the twin towers and he sings about a loved one that he lost in the attack.
I only heard about the Gastronauts a couple of weeks ago. They’re an adventurous eating club based in New York City. An article in the NYTimes detailed their exploits, which consisted of a $50-70 per person multi-person dinner at an ethnic restaurant somewhere in the city. I applied to join via a form on their webpage as soon as I read the article and was accepted a few days later. About a week later the Gastronauts alerted members via email that the next dinner would be held in the Peruvian restaurant Urubamba in Jackson Heights, Queens.
It’s Sunday, and after a night out in Lima, Peru, you’ve found yourself in a cevichería. It’s more, you discover, than a mere place to order ceviche. It’s a cultural institution where lime juice abounds, and the events and misadventures from the previous night are discussed, reenacted and celebrated. Here’s your primer.
As it begins to look more and more like South America is going to clean up at the World Cup, I had the rare opportunity to watch matches of both Brazil and Argentina from within those countries. Each of these nations has won the cup in the past and two of the greatest players in cup history, Argentina’s Diego Maradona (now Argentina’s coach) and Brazil’s Pele, originated here. Both countries hold futbol to a standard on par with the church. When a game is on, the cities shut down as everyone watches. Here’s my report.
Brazil’s traffic clogged city of 20 million is one of the best restaurant cities in...
While Chardonnay and to a lesser extent Torrentes and Sauvignon Blanc are almost always given...
Mistura 2010, Lima, Peru's 3rd annual food festival...
Never would I have thought I would see...
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Village Voice Food Writer Robert Sietsema wrote about...
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The Peruvian documentary 'De Ollas y Sueños' will...
Sam Sifton, the talented new NYTimes restaurant reviewer...
Tierra Firme is iconic. Though Panama City’s international...
Tired of the banking industry, native Ponceño Alejandro Vélez Blasini set off...
A giant black door that must be at least 15 feet high...
While there is some debate over this, both in Buenos Aires and...
Brasil a Gosto, on a quiet tree lined street in São Paulo’s...
Somewhere north of the center of São Paulo, where the endless sea...
Somewhere north of the center of São Paulo, where the endless sea of skyscrapers fades into two story buildings and...
Mayta is one of the most promising restaurants to open in Lima (Miraflores) in 2009. The chef, Jaime Pesaque, is...
Maybe the Cancun area is what the Mayans had in mind as the end of world in 2012? Then again,...
In Quito’s La Floresta neighborhood, Alkimia, which opened in 2008, has a young Peruvian chef who prepares Latin dishes with...
Ceviche can take on many forms, not just the Peruvian style. Every Latin country has...
Yucca sticks, Yucca fries, yuquitas, or whatever you want to call them, are a great...
Michael Evans, the co-founder of Vines of Mendoza - a wine entrepreneurship program...
Sometimes what makes a meal is the reward after the effort it takes...
Oilve oil production in Argentina is still in its infancy. This year is...
In 1968 the eventual founders of Patagonia and North Face outfitters, Yvon Chouinard...