In the States, I never eat at McDonald’s. Here in Guatemala, it’s kind of my thing–and not because of the McNuggets, fries, or burgers. Instead, I stalk Mickey D’s for its McConos: the soft-serve ice cream that’s sold in a cone or a cup for just 3.50 quetzals (less than 50 cents). Unlike most ice […]
Anytime I traveled to the Paraguayan capital, Asunción, as a Peace Corps volunteer nearly a decade ago (ack!), it seemed I would always encounter someone on a city bus selling “bombachas y algogos.” Say that out loud—bombachas y algogos—and tell me that you wouldn’t have wanted both, no matter what they were.
I get why people don’t eat street food when they visit Guatemala. After dropping hundreds of dollars (or more) on airfare, hotels, and other travel expenses, the last thing you want to do is spend your vacation touring Guatemala’s bathrooms.
Tortillas are to Guatemalan food what bacon is to eggs or meatballs are to spaghetti. Failing to serve the former with the latter would simply blow the mind, and who wants little bits of mind in their meal?
When it comes to jocotes, you have to decide: Do you want to eat the small, oblong fruit when it’s a sweet, ripe, sunflower yellow–or when it’s immature, still green, and mouth-puckeringly tart? I know, tough call. But here in Guatemala, it’s your choice to make.
I know that for some people, a meal is not a meal without a hunk of meat. I tend to think of those people as cowboys or German, not as elderly Guatemalan folks.