Mistura 2010, Lima, Peru’’s 3rd annual food festival (September 7-12), is where the most popular food from rustic cafes and even street stalls are served alongside food from the top restaurants. This is the best place to sample the diversity of Peruvian food at every level and where new street food and culinary trends are discovered and awards are given for the best dishes. El Comercio Peru reported last week that more than 14,000 tickets to the event have already been sold. I’ll be there everyday of the event, tasting and shooting everything from juanes to algarobbinas. There’s much more to come on Tuesday, but here is the map of the event grounds to hold you over. If you’re in Lima, this is something you do not want to miss.

Never would I have thought I would see the day when NYC residents will be chowing down on Chile’s fattiest dish. Chilean sandwich shop we love Barros Luco has begun serving the typical dish of Valparaiso, the Chorrillana, a mound of french fries that is topped with steak strips, onions and a fried egg. It has no cholesteral as you would imagine. Barros Luco serves it for just $7.99! Heart attack not included.

This is a little bit delayed, but Go! Overseas has named New World Review the top blog in South America, just edging out Travelojos. This is the first recognition of any kind I have received for this site, so it’s a nice reassurance.

Oilve oil production in Argentina is still in its infancy. This year is expected to be a poor one because of the falling price of the euro and the fact that Argentineans only consume .15 liters of olive oil annually, compared with 25 liters in Greece. Still, as I discovered at Duty Free in Buenos Aires’ Ezeiza airport while loading up on wine, the country is producing some excellent olive oils.

The week before the NYTimes Travel article, 36 Hours in Boston (NYTimes.com) came out, I was in Boston. I was pleased that the writer didn’t leave out Neptune Oyster’s Lobster Roll, which was probably the highlight of my short trip. The narrow North End eatery is as attractive of an oyster bar as I’ve ever seen: a shiny marble bar that stretches the length of the restaurant, a black and white tile floor, nice woodwork, long wine list, and immense oyster selection.

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.

Brazil’s traffic clogged city of 20 million is one of the best restaurant cities in Latin America and it also has one of the best public markets. The 135,000-square-foot Mercado Municipal Paulistano near estación São Bento, was built in the 1930’s and recently renovated, is my number one choice for a meal downtown.

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.