South America Food Culture

Raw sea bass or corvina "cooks" in lime juice sharp enough to make your jaw tingle, then gets showered with red onion slivers that still crackle, cilantro that smells like crushed green pennies, and a shot of cloudy fish liquor called leche de tigre that tastes of ocean and garlic. Portion is modest, price runs 18-25 soles at Mercado de Surquillo in Lima, vegetarian never.

Corn cakes slapped onto a butter-greased griddle until the outside freckles gold. Inside stays molten and slightly elastic. Eat them hot - steam escapes in one thin sigh - then stuff with salty queso blanco or shredded beef that's been stewed in cumin and annatto. Street stands in Caracas open at 6 a.m.; most are cash-only. Budget 3-5 bolívares soberanos per piece, vegetarian if plain.

A Saturday ritual of black beans bubbling with pork tail, ear, and sausage that oozes paprika-orange oil. The stew lands thick, almost tar-black, over a mound of white rice that steams like fresh laundry. Collard greens on the side add a metallic crunch. Rio's Casa da Feijoada serves it from 11 a.m.-5 p.m.; expect 55-70 reais for the full circus. Vegetarians skip.

Short ribs cross-cut so the bones resemble little handles, salted only, then grilled over quebracho wood until the edges candy into beef-butter caramel. The first bite shatters, then melts into a smoke cloud you exhale through your nose. Parrillas in Palermo start firing at 8 p.m.; a 500 g portion runs 2,200-2,800 pesos. Not vegetarian.

Bogotá's altitude soup - three kinds of potatoes dissolve into broth that feels like velvet on the tongue. Corn on the cob bobs like a yellow buoy. Guasca leaves add a grassy note somewhere between mint and damp forest. Served with capers and cream that split into tiny white galaxies. La Puerta Falsa serves it 7 a.m.-9 p.m.; 18-22 mil pesos. Vegetarian if you hold the shredded chicken.

Tapioca-starch rolls that puff into golf-ball clouds, cheese strands stretching like telephones when you pull them apart. Eat two and they squeak against molars. Eat six and you've inhaled half your daily fat. Airport kiosks charge 4-6 reais per pair. Always vegetarian.

Pan-seared potato cakes stained orange by annatto, stuffed with farmer's cheese that leaks like lava. Peanut sauce ladled on top smells toasted, almost burnt, and clings to the back of your spoon. Ambato market, 7 a.m.-3 p.m.; 1.50-2 USD per plate. Vegetarian.

Misleading name - it's a dense corn cake, almost polenta-meets-cornbread, baked until the top freckles amber. Crust crackles, interior stays humid and faintly sweet from fresh choclo kernels. Street vendors in Asunción sell 10 cm squares for 8-10 mil guaraníes. Vegetarian.

Fresh corn masa steamed inside corn husks. Unwrap and you get a sweet-savory pudding shot through with basil that tastes like someone liquefied an Andean meadow. Found 6-10 a.m. outside La Vega Central in Santiago; 1,000-1,200 pesos. Vegetarian.

Beef-heart skewers the color of burgundy velvet, marinated in vinegar and panca chile, then grilled over eucalyptus until edges carbonize into smoky chips. Chew is springy, not rubbery, finishing with a metallic whisper of iron. Street carts on Av. Angamos start 7 p.m.; 8-10 soles each. Not vegetarian.

Kernels the size of thumbnails, steamed until starchy and squeaky, served with a slab of cheese that smells like warm milk left in the sun. Add rocoto jam for a sweet-hot jolt. San Pedro market, Cusco, 6 a.m.-5 p.m.; 5-7 soles. Vegetarian.

Corn crust baked golden, hiding minced beef speckled with olives and raisins - think shepherd's pie that went on a beach holiday. Surface bubbles like hot mudside mud pots. Mercado Central, noon onwards; 4,000-5,000 pesos. Not vegetarian.

Two shortbread discs surrender around dulce de leche so thick it strings like treacle. Powdered sugar ghosts your chin after the first bite. Havana kiosks everywhere; 180-250 pesos a pair. Vegetarian.

Velvety caramel base topped with port-wine meringue that looks like a small cumulus cloud. Spoon sinks with zero resistance. Tastes of burnt sugar and Catholic guilt. La Merced church patio vendors, afternoons; 12-15 soles. Vegetarian.