Quito snacks

My wife, Barbara, and I visited Quito, Ecuador, in January ’06. The places to eat are endless and we found most quite adequate.

You can get an almuerzo (lunch) of the day (fixed menu) for $1.50. It will include a nice soup and a main dish of some kind of meat plus rice and maybe a vegetable and fresh-squeezed fruit juice.

The fruit juice is in the form of what is called a liquido. Just enough water is added to easily liquefy whatever they use (pineapple, papaya, blackberries, etc.). We found that any decent-looking place used bottled water to add to the fruit.

À la carte items that are popular are humitas (sweetened rolls of cornmeal cooked in a husk), tamals (the same as humitas but stuffed with either chicken or ground meat) and empanadas, an Argentine creation, basically deep-fried turnovers filled with meat, cheese, fruit or even chocolate.

If you’re a fruit nut as we are, you’ll be in heaven. Mangoes were just finishing during our visit, but they were still wonderful. Moras (blackberries) are grown year-round and are fabulous. There is also a tree-grown fruit called tomate that looks like our plum tomatoes. It is usually blended with some other fruit for juice and, like all the rest of their fruit, tastes great.

Don’t forget Ecuador’s most exportable product, bananas. They come in different sizes, shapes and colors. You will find the big plantains being grilled like wieners at streetside stands.

SAM KAMILOS

Carmichael, CA