I think I’m hungry.

This was hard to narrow down.

Quito, Ecuador has some pretty amazing food. Thought it’s not what people tend to think. It’s not Mexican food; they don’t eat burritos. It’s not spicy; actually there is a lot of white rice, chicken and potatoes.

Here’s a few foods to try before you head out of the city:

1. Higo con queso Figs with cheese – a kind of healthy dessert option, but so delectable, and apparently not common in many other parts of the world. They come drizzled with some kind of caramel sauce.
2. Locro de papa This is an extremely serrano option – meaning that it is very local to the mountain regions. It’s kind of a creamy yellow potato soup served with cheese (queso fresco, I love the cheese here) and aguacate (avocado.)
3. Llapingacho These are like little cheesy potato patties, also worth trying.
4. Maduros y bolones Maduros are fried sweet plantain and I LOVE them. And bolones are not-yet-sweet plantains rolled into a ball and stuffed with cheese, if you’re feeling a sweet and salty soft chewy big roll kind of food, this one is for you.
5. Empanada de viento y morocho An empanada de viento is a huge breaded fried half-circle filled with a touch of cheese and coated in sugar. Morocho is a thick white sugary drink. La Ronda is popular place to try these and you can learn about that here.
6. Un almuerzo For about $2.50, you can eat a three-course meal with a juice included here during lunch. Almost every restaurant has their almuerzo option each day. It’s usually not on the menu, so just ask for their almuerzo option. Usually you get soup, followed by a choice of meat with rice or potatoes, and a dessert at the end, all served with juice. Yay eating out for cheap!
7. Hot chocolate y pancito The bread here “pancito” is so fresh and soft and out-of-this-world. Just follow your nose ’cause old pan (bread) isn’t the same. Smell the fresh stuff and go for it! And what is great is hot chocolate is not just a kid’s drink here. It’s as classy as coffee, so embrace your hidden love of hot chocolate and drink it all the time here.
8. Some crazy fruit I remember how silly I felt and also how wide-eyed with childlike wonder when I realized at the age of 22 there were way more fruits in the world than I ever knew. For some reason I thought I had heard of them all! Please try a guanabana if you’re feeling like a fun little adventure. It basically looks like a spiky huge green dinosaur egg, you open it and eat the white flesh on the inside. Another fun one is the granadilla – affectionately known as “snot fruit” by some (you’ll see). Check out a frutería and you can pick up some cheap fruit and have fun exploring and tasting. Just make sure you peel it, or if it’s not a fruit you can peel you’re going to have to disinfect it with Kilol or you’ll get very sick.
9. Jugo de mora Mora is blackberry. And here it’s super popular, it’s the flavor of choice, which I love because in many parts of the world it’s quite expensive. Try some blackberry juice or ice cream or anything blackberry.
10. Best for last… Qui (Cuy). Qui is (drumroll please)… guinea pig, and a traditional fancy food to eat here. It is quite an honor to eat so if you really want the experience, grab a taste, it comes looking like… a cooked rodent, teeth and all. I confess I’m not much for the eating-rodents life so I pass, but go for it if you really want the true experience!

What are your Quito must-try foods?

Other foods worth trying that don’t have time for the list…

• Pan de yuca
• Churrasco

I make it a policy to use all my own photos, but this is an exception. Here are the links to where I found these photos, if you would like your photo removed please let me know!

Higos Con Queso: https://www.laylita.com/recipes/dulce-de-higos-or-figs-in-syrup/
Locro: https://www.laylita.com/recipes/locro-de-papa-creamy-potato-soup-with-cheese/
Guanabana: http://fruteriaonline.es/producto/guanabana/
Cuy: https://travelfoodatlas.com/peruvian-guinea-pig-cuy-recipe
Jugo de mora: https://comida.uncomo.com/receta/como-hacer-un-batido-de-mora-26633.html
Granadilla: https://www.amazon.com/Granadilla-Grenadia-Passiflora-Ligularis-Passionfruit/dp/B019G6RZBU
Empanada de viento y morocho: https://www.facebook.com/FruteriaMonserrate/posts/1580373915386131/
Maduros: https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/platanos-maduros-15743
Bolones: https://www.laylita.com/recipes/bolon-de-verde-green-plantain-dumplings/
Pan: https://www.eluniverso.com/guayaquil/2017/03/09/nota/6079384/prepara-pan-enrollado-receta-migajas-bake-shop
Llapingacho: https://www.laylita.com/recipes/llapingachos-or-stuffed-potato-patties/
Almuerzo: https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fpimientaenlaensalada.files.wordpress.com%2F2015%2F04%2Fcomo-comer-en-quito-y-en-muchas-partes-de-ecuador-de-forma-barata-y-saludable-arroz-640.jpg%3Fresize%3D620%252C465&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Ftravellingdijuca.com%2F2015%2F04%2F02%2Fcomo-comer-en-quito-y-en-muchas-partes-de-ecuador-de-forma-barata-y-saludable%2F&docid=D5o_ms5evr1B4M&tbnid=qFGSzWIQhUTcyM%3A&vet=10ahUKEwjXqLWRgqbkAhUSrp4KHRlqBY4QMwh0KCEwIQ..i&w=620&h=465&bih=744&biw=1420&q=un%20almuerzo%20ecuador&ved=0ahUKEwjXqLWRgqbkAhUSrp4KHRlqBY4QMwh0KCEwIQ&iact=mrc&uact=8