south-american-food

Cartagena — Colombia’s walled city on the Caribbean — is a food nexus, one in which ingredients from the sea, jungle and mountains meet with African, Spanish and native South American techniques. Visitors have to look no further than the city’s streets to experience the variety of tastes and textures that come together here.When I visited last month,…

Head south of the border tonight! More south...more...past Mexico, and we’re there! Tonight, we’re making South American food with an active cooking time of 45 minutes or less. Hit Brazil for cachaça-marinated chicken, Peru for quinoa, Venezuela for dessert and a few other stops along the way. Keep it fresh and spicy and get it…

Often eclipsed by culinary capitals Lima and Buenos Aires, Quito’s restaurant scene is on the rise. The Andean city combines centuries-old indigenous traditions, deft craftsmanship and soulful style that distinguish it from temples to haute cuisine in nearby Peru. With TAME Airlines’ newly launched direct flights out of Fort Lauderdale and New York, the city…

If you're looking for traditional Argentine food, odds are you'll find steak and provoleta on the menu. Provoleta is an appetizer or side dish of simple seared and melted provolone cheese, seasoned with herbs and spiced and served with plenty of bread for dipping. It's fondue at its least pretentious, and it's a great reason…

Until last year, I had only been to a handful of Peruvian restaurants. Most were the casual, rotisserie chicken type — Peruvians make a mean roast chicken — but it wasn’t until last year that I started hearing about more upscale Peruvian restaurants in destination cities worldwide. Despite Peruvian cuisine coming into its own as…

Until last year, I had only been to a handful of Peruvian restaurants. Most were the casual, rotisserie chicken type — Peruvians make a mean roast chicken — but it wasn’t until last year that I started hearing about more upscale Peruvian restaurants. While visiting London, a friend scored a table at Lima London, which…

I've been living in Costa Rica for about a month now. It's a magnificent country with dense jungles, white sand beaches and exotic wildlife that truly exemplifies the name “Rich Coast”….unless we’re talking about Costa Rican cheese, in which case it is the “Saddest Most Bland Coast Ever” or any equivalent Spanish translation thereof. I…

Colombia's sexy city by the sea has a UNESCO nod, unstoppable nightlife and some of the most stylish locals this side of Milan. But smart travelers couple the glam with the grit, journeying beyond the historic city center to Cartagena’s edgier, emerging neighborhoods. From a dance club with the sort of strong cocktails that inspire…

What makes an Argentinian steak different from any other? Well for starts, Argentina takes its beef very seriously. They have a lot of cows, export a TON of said cows and have perfected the simple grilled steak recipe. A little rosemary for flavor, some basic red wine reduction to cut the meat's richness and finito.…

Like any lover of food, few things please me as profoundly as a perfect roast chicken. I'm going to go out on a limb and say it's a universally satisfying thing. Now it's not a competition, but wherever I go I have to check out the local roast chicken scene and make sure it's all…

Chile long suffered from a culinary identity crisis. Its high-end restaurants served that dreaded cuisine referred to as international, while its traditional dishes were relegated to the status of diner food. In the last few years, however, Chilean chefs have started embracing their mothers’ recipes, as well as indigenous ingredients, and taking the country’s cuisine…

[caption id="attachment_62064" align="alignnone" width="700" ] Elisa Cea Epuin mixes up traditional Mapuche foods with modern baked goods.[/caption][caption id="attachment_62065" align="alignnone" width="700" ] Oversized roasted pine nuts called piñones.[/caption] You might say the Mapuche, a native tribe found in south-central Chile and southwestern Argentina, were once the fiercest in all the Americas. It’s not that the Mapuche…

Before your first travel to Rio, you already know what the city — my hometown — is all about. There's carnival, soccer, beaches and parties. You also know you will visit Christ the Redeemer and Sugarloaf Mountain. Until the last few years, those have been the main associations with Rio de Janeiro, and that was…

Let's start with an easy vocab lesson. For those of you who weren't paying attention in your high school Spanish class when they addressed important culinary compound verbs, empanar means to wrap in bread or pastry. Many Latin countries empanan, and for good reason. That which is wrapped in pastry is extremely delicious. The earliest…