Street food is the fast track to local flavors and cuisine of a particular location. Every city has its own varieties and cities in Latin America.
Preparing to Eat Street Food
- Start slow. Do not get all excited and eat everything you see in the street in a new place. You need to temper your stomach a bit in the beginning.
- Grape fruit seed extract. This horrible tasting substance comes in pill form or as a liquid. The pills are great for tempering your stomach, but the liquid can be used for cleaning cuts and is cheaper per dose.
- Yogurt. This is a great source of the "good bacteria" your body needs to stay healthy.
- Vitamins. Take a multivitamin as you travel to make sure you are getting plenty of what you need to fight off the new foreign bugs.
Finding Good Street Food
- Look for stalls near a city's main vegetable market
- Look for stalls near a port city's main fish market (the earlier the better on this one)
- Explore around major transportation hubs, particularly bus stations
- Follow locals to where they eat; ask around what people's favorite spots are
- Go to packed stalls. This is an indication of good food, and a high turnover of the product making it safer for non-native stomachs.
- Stay and eat. Don't just grab food and run. Strike up a conversation and find out what your eating and who else enjoys it. Ask people where else they go for food and what the "don't miss" places are.
Street Food No No's
- Frozen, icy treats. Avoid these for the same reason you want to have your drinks "neat"; frozen water can be just as hazardous as tap water.
- Pre-cut fruits and vegetables. You really have no idea how long these tempting treats have been sitting there, nor how they've been treating. No rind? Never mind.
- Mayonnaise covered food. This one may sound obvious, but your humble narrator continues to learn it time and time again. Not many nations have regulations on how long mayo can sit in the sun before being
When You Get Sick*
- Vitamins. Emergen-C, Air Borne, and multi-vitamins are your best friend. Take them as often as you can keep them down.
- Fluids and electrolytes. Gatorade, Powerade, Pediolite are all great sources of water and sugar which you will need as sources of fast energy if you cannot keep food down. Water them down a bit to make them easier to stomach if things are hitting you particularly badly.
- Yogurt. This is a great source of "good bacteria" to combat the bad ones. Nothing like dairy products when you are already feeling poorly...
- Rest and buckets.
*Eating should be an adventure and every adventure comes with a little risk.
The copyright of the article Eating Street Food in Latin/Caribbean Cuisine is owned by Timothy Dzurilla. Permission to republish Eating Street Food in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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