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I found this booth selling piñas colada and mojito smoothies at the doorway of pseudo Mexican restaurant. I had the mojito flavor and it was very, very good, especially for the hot weather we had today in Antigua Guatemala. Of course, these a good way to observe the Cinco de Mayo, a very important celebration for Mexicans everywhere except almost all of Mexico. However, I would order lime and pineapple margaritas or any citric smoothie with a few shots of tequila or mezcal, don’t you agree?

Interesting enough, I have not encountered many restaurants that offer waffles; or perhaps I wasn’t looking. However, for some reason, waffles jumped at me at the menu from Café La Casaca the first time I visited and I just had to have a waffle. Of course, if you drive to Guatemala City you can have waffles and pancakes at the IHOP restaurants, but I wouldn’t drive to GuateCity just for that. Interesting enough, there’s a Casa Internacional del Waffle or just La Casa del Waffle in San Lucas, but I have not got the chance to try them there.

Do you know of other restaurants in Antigua Guatemala or nearby that serve waffles?

It’s been a while since I posted something in the Vegetarian category. I can honestly say that nowadays it is easier to be a vegetarian and dine out in La Antigua Guatemala. There are many restaurants that cater for the meat-free crowd. Sometimes it is only a few dishes like a miso soup or vegetarian roll at Ubi’s; other times it’s a whole section in the menu like in Sabe Rico where the photo of this delicious and fulfilling salad was taken.

The “green” salad pictured above has an assortment of deluxe organically grown lettuces, cherry tomatoes, watermelon dices, sliced olives, sesame and roasted pumpkin seeds. I recommend you give it a try even if you’re not vegetarian, you won’t miss the meat with such a rich and flavorful salad. I promise!

In La Antigua Guatemala we are so lucky to have fresh tropical fruits year round to prepare our licuados and smoothies. Since the low coastal lands are within one or two hours distance, we are guaranteed a fresh supply of tropical fruity goodness any day, any time.

Sweet. Refreshing. Natural. Licuados are one of those treats that truly define a Guatemalan experience. The blended fruit drinks can be found most anywhere in La Antigua from fancy restaurants to local, hole-in-the-wall comedors… and I absolutely LOVE them declared Giramonda in the Licuado Culture post.

What tropical fruits will you include in your licuado? We do home deliveries

En La Antigua Guatemala somos afortunados de tener frutas tropicales frescas todo el año para preparar licuados. Ya que las tierras bajas de la costa nos quedan a tan sólo una o dos horas de distancia, tenemos garantizada una fresca oferta de frutas tropicales cualquier día.

¿Qué frutas tropicales incluirán en su próximo licuado? Hacemos entregas a domicilio

Nothing is sacred in the kitchen and fusion is the tendency in vogue. So it comes as no surprise to find new ingredients as part of the Pupusas repertoire such as chipilín and mushrooms.

Pupusas are tortilla-like dish, about the size of CD and made from a mixture of maize dough, cheese and some typical ingreditients like loroco, beans, chicharon, chirozo, et cetera. Pizza Maya is what I called a giant pupusa the first time I introduced them. We can even find black or blue pupusas in Antigua Guatemala.

It’s quite common to find pupusas with cheese and loroco, an exotic herb from Central America in El Salvador and sometimes in La Antigua Guatemala, but I had never had pupusas with cheese and mushrooms or cheese and chipilín, another exotic herb/weed from Guatemala.

What’s next? Pupusas with cheese and flor de izote, queso y flor de ayote, maybe bledo, espinacas could also work or even quiletes weeds sauté with onions? What do you think?

If you want to learn about Guatemala’s editable weeds, flowers and herbs, follow the white rabbit!

By the way, these two pupusas and a licuado from fresh tropical fruits and milk will set you back Q26/$3.25 at Pupusas Cheros, located half a block from Central Park on 5a calle poniente. RWOrange are you reading this?

We are so lucky in Guatemala to have an abundant supply of fresh and colorful vegetables all year long. This colorful side dish, for instance, can be had any time of the year for a few quetzales.
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Remolachas, beets, are another staple of the Guatemalan gastronomy. You will find often in salads, as a side dish, in curtido (pickled salad), in Guatemalan enchiladas and even in Fiambre.

In what other Guatemalan dishes can we find remolachas?

Guacamol has to be among the most present sauces or salads in the Guatemalan cuisine; as well as chirmol and often together. Chirmol (Guatemalan tomato-based sauce) and guacamol (avocado sauce) are often found with typical dishes like parrilladas and chuparrascos. Guacamol is also found in tostadas. Guacamol, of course, is part of the diet of Panzas Verdes.

There are several recipes of Guatemalan guacamol, including one that is very similar to the Mexican guacamole. However, the Guatemalan guacamol is often prepared with chopped onions, lime juice, oregano (marjoram) and chiltepes. In my family I often had it mixed with what seemed to be pico de gallo. Guacamol is also the spread for tortillas con longanizas (Guatemalan white sausages).

I could go on and on about guacamol like Bubba about shrimp!

Did you know that aguacate, avocado, comes from the Mexican Nahuatl language word ahuacacuauhitl; do you know what it means?

Contrary to popular belief, Guatemalans do have a large selection of salads in their gastronomy palette, including, of course, one of the most ingredient-rich and colorful salads in the planet, the world-famous Fiambre. If you don’t believe me, take a look at the Fiambre slideshow.

Ejotes (green beans), pimientos (bell peppers), arbejas (green peas), repollo (cabbage), and onions are often used in the Guatemalan salads along with typical herbs yerba buena, mint, parsely and cilantro. Often, many of the vegetables are prepared in escabeche (pickled) before incorporating them.

So, the Guatemalan gastronomy is not just Amerindian curries, rice and beans as some misinformed foreigners have declared.

Stay tune for a few more Guatemalan salads in the upcoming days.

What’s your favorite Guatemalan salad?

Ah hah, I am very close to discover exactly what turns any meal into a typical Guatemalan dish. I believe that you can have a series of ingredients that can be group together like longaniza (white sausage), chorizo (red sausage), salchichas (wiener sausage, like in hot dogs), carne asada (charchoal-grilled beef steak), chicken, guacamol, chirmol, rice, salad, cheese, tortillas, bread, vegetables, etc., but you can’t call it typical until you also put black beans and fried plantain slices; only then you can call it a typical Guatemalan dish.

Wha do you guys think? Am I right or I don’t know what I’m talking about?

The typical lunch above is from Travel Menu, a tiny diner, which has a small menu with very good food which can be prepared with chicken, beef or tofu. Travel Menu was the first place my wife and I ate when we moved to La Antigua Guatemala in 2002 and still among our favorites. Travel Menu is a good choice if you’re vegetarian and one of the few places where you can eat tofu.

As always, if you click on the links for Travel Menu, you will be taken to the Foursquare entry I created for you with address, phone number and map.

In my never-ending quest to bring you the cosmopolitan dining options available in La Antigua Guatemala. Ubi’s Sushi, managed by chef Jeremías, is the new sushi venue in Antigua Guatemala. I have tweeted a few photos from Ubi’s Sushi, including their delicious ceviche.

Also, like all the new places I am profiling here, I also created a Foursquare venue so that the address, phone number and map is available to you in case you want to check it out for yourself [without inviting me ].

If you’re vegetarian or would like to try some tasty vegetarian dishes, Ubi’s Sushi is the place to go; try their miso soup and a vegetarian roll.

On the other hand, if you just want to try a few different options of sushi, sashimi, jemaki, etc., try their Titanic Mix, which is good enough for two people.

Bon appetite my friends!

Guatemalan are living a new sense of freedom, not the kind that was expected by the signage of the Peace Accords of 1996. Rather, it is a gastronomic freedom. Some of the Guatemalan expats noticed that something had changed since their departure when they saw Pepitoria, chile, salt and lime-lemon juice granizadas (shaved ice).

Some Guatemalans even commented about it, like Manolo: “This post-modern new millennium Guatemala presented in LAGDP sometimes throws me for a loop… what the heck are ‘salty granizadas’?” or Edgar: “Don’t know if my train is going to fast, but I’ve never seen those salty ‘granizadas’. I’m sure that kind of ‘granizada’ surfaced in the 90′s.”

Even though Guatemalans are known for being extremely conservative it’s only obvious that they are now abandoning the safe harbors and adventuring into extravagant paths. Can you believe it? There is now fresh mango chunks with salt, pepitoria and lime-lemon cupsicles*? Well, mango popsicles seemed rather traditionalist after I was made aware of mora (blackberry) with salt, pepitoria and lime-lemon, as well as mora and pineapple with salt, pepita and lemon juice cupsicles. Let it be known you heard it first in AntiguaDailyPhoto.

I wonder what’s next for Guatemala now that Guatemalans have abandoned their conventional ways? Revolution?

*Cupsicle is a word coined by Manolo in Facebook while referring to the Guatemalan version of popsicle.

This has to be the best quiche anywhere. Although it is made from eggs, it could be considered a vegetarian dish, right?

Even though Héctor’s restaurant does not have a sign that might point you to where his place is at, most locals, including foreigners, know about this fabulous venue. His French-influenced cosmopolitan cuisine is considered by many Antigua Guatemala’s best kept secret.

Make sure you also try Hector’s roasted tomatoes, basil and cheese!
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Here’s another cosmopolitan vegetarian menu option from Quesos y Vinos, one of the oldest Italian restaurants in La Antigua Guatemala. They serve homemade pastas and pizzas cooked inside a wood-burning brick oven. I enjoy meeting people for lunch at Quesos y Vino’s patio dining area.

If you are looking for great tasting and fulfilling vegetarian pizza, make sure you stop at this venue.

We continue our International Cuisine tour with a sampler of vegetarian food from India. As I said yesterday, here’s additional proof of how cosmopolitan Antigua Guatemala has become. This Indian Vegetarian sampler can be had at Masala, the terrace restaurant of La Sala, which will change its name to La Sala Masala.

I bet you didn’t think all these international cuisine options were available in Antigua Guatemala, right?

Well, I have created the category Vegetarian under Food and Drinks to help those who do not eat meat find the restaurants with vegetarian menus. Let me what do you think of this category.