On the Pan-American highway, the Pan-Americana, about an hour south of Lima near Cañete, there’s a roadside criollo restaurant, which borders a gas station, called El Piloto. Originally, El Piloto, was intended for truckers, but became so popular that the truckers have been priced out.

“I Love Ho’s” was the sticker I got with my check at the end of my meal at Uncle Ho’s in Quito, Ecuador’s Mariscal recently. I first heard about the restaurant from Tripadvisor where it was ranked in the Top 5 of about 150 of all restaurants in Quito. People were raving about it. Quito’s Mariscal District is a major hangout for expats in South America, many of them taking advantage of cheap Spanish schools or volunteering at the many non-profits based there.

Whenever I’m in Chile one of the first things I do, considering I’m usually tired after a long flight is to go to a diner or café and order a sandwich and a beer. As I described in this earlier post, Chile does sandwiches right. There are dozens of them and most involve grilled steak and avocado. Apart from some of the sandwiches show up on restaurant menus near the Chilean border in Peru or Argentina, I’ve never encountered a Chilean sandwich shop. Anywhere.