“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.

Calabaza is the West Indian pumpkin and its often used in Caribbean cooking. It’s an old Spanish term that can be applied to a variety of squashes and melons. In North America, calabaza generally refers to any species of tropical gourds of the genus Cucurbita such as C. moschata and C. maxima. In Latin America calabaza goes by several names such as auyama (Venezuela), ayote (Central America), abóbora (Brazil), and zapallo (most of South America).

I’ve never liked tomatoes much, even though I was born in Reynoldsburg, Ohio, the birthplace of the tomato (debatable). I think it has something to do with my Italian mother serving us Spaghetti with marinara sauce three times a week. However, I’ve become accustomed to Bloody Mary’s at Sunday brunches in Brooklyn. It’s such a pick me up after a late night, though I’ve searching long and hard for some sort of an alternative sans tomato. A sort of green drink Bloody Mary.

Their patio tables sit in the parking lot right up against the cars, but that doesn’t mean Juez y Parte (Judge & Jury) cannot put out a mean cebiche. Here the specials are called the chef’s sentence. My verdict: Cebiche Causa de Divorcio (Ceviche that is the cause of Divorce)…. Read More →

The Chilcano de Pisco is one of Peru’s classic cocktails, right up there with the Pisco Sour and Algarobbina. For many foreigners visiting Peru, it is the drink that starts their love for Pisco and is one of the easiest pisco based cocktails to make.

A Papa Rellena is essentially a stuffed potato. It is a common criollo snack or appetizer that utilizes that famous Andean ingredient, the potato, and is served all around Peru and quote common in other parts of South America and the Caribbean as well.

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.

Mosto Verde Pisco is almost always the priciest bottle from any major pisco vendor. The name isn’t referencing the type of grape used in the pisco rather it relates to the distillation process. Mosto Verde simply means green must. Unlike a normal Pisco distillation, Mosto Verde does not allow the grapes to ferment completely, which leaves the liquid with some sugar content. The resulting taste is smooth, velvety, and full bodied. Mosto Verde is pisco is typically drank straight, though more and more mixologists that understand it’s subtle qualities are using it in cocktails that let those flavors shine.

Singani is Bolivia’s answer to Pisco in Peru and Chile. The clear, 80 proof spirit is distilled from muscatel of Alexandria grapes in the southern city of Tarija and sometimes just over the border in northwest Argentina, however, its origins trace it back to the Valley of Cinti in Chuquisaca when Augustinian monasteries that had been in the region since the 1550’s began distilling wine.

For some reason everyone is afraid to grill octopus. Yet, it’s not overly difficult. There is a fine line between cooking and overcooking, but with the tiniest bit of care your pulpo won’t become a rubbery mess. It’s an ideal addition to a seafood barbecue and can be skewered alongside shrimp and tuna. The addition of the Nikkei marinade included below, though not essential, adds a unique, slightly sweet Peruvian accent to the octopus.