Comida comida

They say the way to a man`s heart is through his stomach...thankfully that is not the case for me!

The food here in Ecuador is something to be desired. It`s not bad, but it often lacks imagination. I eat out quite a lot here, despite the fact that I have a kitchen at home, because it`s so cheap and I don`t like cooking for one. Each day I go in search of the best "almuerzo" (set lunch), although I`ve been frequenting a nice restaurant called "Sal Y Azucar" ("Salt and Sugar"), because they have REAL desserts, and perhaps the way through my heart is through sweets! Anyhow, a set lunch is usually between $1-2, which is a steal of a deal, when you think of all the food you get. Usually almuerzos consist of a bowl of soup, served with popcorn or corn nublets to throw in at your leisure (I love the popcorn, hate the tasteless corn nublets), a giant plate of plain white rice with some sort of meat on top, salad and dessert. Usually the meat is unidentifiable, the salad could be anything from shredded radish to unthawed frozen peas to actual lettuce and tomato, and the dessert a cookie or revolting banana pudding or sweet roll. Sal Y Azucar serves tiny slices of cake, peaches and cream, or ice cream, hence why I prefer them. To spice up the rice and often the soup, every restaurant has their own version of ajì, which is a hot sauce. Some of them are good, and some are disgusting. Plus, people in Ecuador put cilantro in bloody EVERYTHING. I HATE cilantro. I put it in the same category as racism, George Bush, and child molesters. It completely ruins the taste of anything it touches. I want to cry when I see tiny bits of cilantro floating in my soup, or in the ajì, because it means my lunch will be severely compromised. At least they don`t put cilantro in the desserts (although I`m sure they`ve tried).

Anyhow, I`ve found a few restaurants that I frequent at least once a week. My favorite is "Pancho`s", which is a Mexican restaurant right below my apartment. They serve excellent chicken quesadillas and tacos con carne. It`s owned by a friendly guy from North Carolina and his Ecuadorian wife. It`s a bit on the expensive side, at $3-4 a meal. Next is "Moliendo Cafè" which is a Columbian restaurant about a block away. They serve the world`s best guacamole, and arepas with tons of veggies and meat on top. It might be my favorite too. The owners are super nice and if I go in by myself, they make sure to provide me with a magazine to read so I don`t look like such a loser! :D A meal there rarely costs more than $2. Finally, the best burger joint in town is a Spanish restaurant called "Percal." It`s super small, so make sure you go early, and you`ll get a table. You`ll notice that none of the restaurants are typical Ecuadorian restaurants. It`s because Ecuadorian food is boring. It`s good enough for lunch, but if you want a taste sensation, you`re unfortunately going to have to look elsewhere.

Writing has made me hungry. I`m off to eat!