'Charge 'em for the lice, extra for the mice'

Is this the recipe for the inescapable, greasy and scrumptious choripán found at every intersection and outdoor market in Montevideo?

"Food beyond compare, food beyond belief, mix in the mincer and pretend it's beef. Kidney of horse, liver of a cat, filing up the sausages with this and that." - Les Misérables

Chayote empanadas

Mostly as an excuse to go to C-Town, the famous Latin grocery in Pawtucket, R.I., we decided to cook up some empanadas, turnovers with a savory filling that resemble the Indian samosa. Though Providence, R.I. has become super Latino in recent years, none of the local supermarkets carry empanada shells. (Surprisingly, even at C-Town, the only shells available were frozen.) For the fillings, we chose canned corn-shredded cheese-sauteed onions and roasted chayotes-roasted eggplant.


For an appetizer, we had Mexican tostada casera from Charras ("El Real Sabor Mexicano") and queso blanco from Wisconsin. Our friend Paco from Buenos Aires brought over a bottle of 2006 Trapiche Broquel Malbec.

C-Town's motto: "El Gigante de Pawtucket!"

Colombian grub in Central Falls, R.I.

Opened in 1976, the Colombian restaurant El Paisa is perhaps the most highly regarded of an impressive string of Latin American restaurants in Central Falls, R.I. that includes Taqueria Lupita. That's no small accomplishment. This tiny city north of Providence is about 60 percent Latino, and most "For Rent" and retail signs do not bother with English translations. (Listen here to an NPR report about the city's Latino community.) On El Paisa's detailed Web site, a map appears to locate the Dexter Street restaurant somewhere south of Panama.


Sancocho de carne de res, a traditional beef and potato soup. Mondongo, a tripe soup, is also on the menu.


Picada de chorizo, chicharrón, yuca frita and papa criolla, an appetizer platter with Colombian sausage, fried pork rinds, potatoes and cassava fries.


The massive Colombian platter, known as the bandeja Colombiana, includes lean steak, fried pork, roasted plantain, boiled yucca and potato, white rice, red beans and a salad with beats. It's served on two plates.




As always, I did not shoot the best photos above. For that, you have WBRU's Vilay Senthep (above) to thank. At least on the night we visited, Vilay was more talented than the cooks. The sancocho was luke warm, for example, and you can probably tell that many of the dishes, including the empanadas, were overcooked. But it was a Tuesday night, after all, so perhaps El Paisa saves its A-Game for the weekend.

Bonus: Click here to watch a choppy video of Hillary Clinton visiting El Paisa during the Democratic primaries.

Asado in the oven

The guests at Lara and Paco's apartment in Providence included Colombians, Ecuadorians and Argentines. So not surprisingly, the menu was heavy on delicious, high quality meat and pork, prepared and presented with traditional simplicity and abundance.


For appetizers, Lara and Paco served choripán using pork chorizo from Armando & Son's Meat Market in Pawtucket, R.I., served on fresh bread with chimichurri sauce. They also prepared bacon-wrapped asparagus.




The main course was asado, a popular, relatively inexpensive, uniquely Southern Cone rib cut. Because it was raining, they roasted all the meat in the oven, including the chorizo. My wife, Keryn, prepared the salad, chopping lettuce, red bell peppers, grape tomatoes and avocado.




Among the gallons of red wine consumed was a great bottle of Malbec from Altos Las Hormigas in Mendoza, Argentina.