Lolita (Philadelphia)

My friend Dave and I went for dinner at this cash-only outfit in the Market East section of Philadelphia. I'm glad we did because I forgot how great this place is since last time I visited two years before.

The menu at Lolita offers modern Mexican fare. This is not quite your authentic Mexican cuisine (and I'm not talking about tacos tortas and chalupas, I mean moles, Carne Tampiqueña, Pescado a la Veracruzana, etc.) but rather new interpretations with traditional ingredients. The entrees were outstanding, very rich in flavor and highly textured. The lamb entree is small cutlets of tender lamb bathed in a rich and slightly spicy sauce with a small corn and mushroom tamale. The presentation is very nice and inventive. Lolita often serves Margarita specials that come in a full pitcher. You can also bring your tequila!

Considering the attentive service and the warm and cozy ambiance, Lolita is truly an outstanding dining experience.

MuQueCa (Boston)

MuQueCa is a tribute to the scrumptious northeastern Brazilian cuisine, a fusion the cuisines of West Africa, Portuguese African, Europe, and Native Brazilian. It is located near Inman Square in Cambridge (yes, I know, Cambridge and Boston are different cities).

The main dish at MuQueCa is of course, moqueca which is a fish or seafood stew. In the more famous baiana version, the stew includes coconut milk and palm oil. Most moquecas here are served capixaba style (from the state of Espirito Santo) where the latter two ingredients are not present. Diners can chose to have fish only, or mix and match with a variety of seafood. The perfect side is pirão, which is much like a less solid polenta, except you use mandioc flour and fish or seafood broth. You may also want to try the Bobó de Camarão, a creamy shrimp dish that could remind you of South East Asian curries as it often served with white rice. The menu also offers whole fried fish, coconut shrimp and a variety of meat and poultry if you're not feeling like seafood. Meals at MuQueCa are richly seasoned, not too spicy/hot, and very flavorful.

Moquecas are generous meals, so come hungry or come ready to share!

Mineiro Cuisine and Dona Lucinha (Belo Horizonte)

Comida Mineira, the traditional food of the southeastern state of Minas Gerais is a great candidate to lead the internationalization of Brazilian cuisine. The culinary delights that this cuisine has to offer may be simple in appearance, but don't be fooled since the stews are steeped in history, and the labor-intensive and time-consuming methods reflect the passion of Mineiros.

Tropeiros were "cowboys/trailblazers" who guided livestock to the frontiers of the Brazilian territory during colonial and early republican times. Given their lifestyle, their meals tended to be filling and practical. Today, many of those are part of traditional mineiro cuisine. Take for instance Feijão Tropeiro, a mix of beans with cassava (a.k.a. manioc, yuca) flour garnished with linguiça (pork saussage), torresmo (pork rinds) and eggs. Another famous tropeiro meal is Vaca Atolada which is stewed beef ribs with manioc.

Comida da fazenda, or farm-style food, fills in the other half of the Mineiro cuisine and is most representative of the agricultural heritage of the state. Frango com Quiabo, is stewed chicken with okra often served with sliced couve (a strong, leafy vegetable related to cabbage known as collard greens) and angú (corn or manioc flour cooked with water to make a mash, much like polenta in Italian cuisine).

Perhaps the most famous Mineiro food is Pão de Queijo (Cheese bread) which is bread made from manioc flour and cheese, eaten at any time of the day as a side or snack.

Typical desserts rely heavily on fruits or dairy products. Fruits such as oranges, papaya, guava, figs, and pineapples are cooked and served either as a pureé or a compote-like dessert. Dairy products also help satiate Mineiro sweet-tooth, for example doçe de leite is milk and sugar throughly cooked into a mousse-like cream. This dessert has been made famous as dulce de leche since it's also present in the Spanish-speaking world. Mineiros like their dairy so much, they even mix fruit and dairy in their desserts. Romeu e Julieta is guava paste presented with pieces of fresh white cheese.

All of these, and many other traditional dishes are served at Dona Lucinha, a buffet-style restaurant in downtown Belo Horizonte. At Dona Lucinha the quantity does not mean quality is sacrificed. I recommend going hungry and trying as many options as possible. Outside of the exceptional food, the restaurant is quite normal. Dona Lucinha also has a restaurant serving the same great food in São Paulo!

Tua (Guatemala City)

Tua is not a staekhouse, yet it serves superb steak. It's not a seafood restaurant, but its sushi-grade tuna is a true specialty. Tua is simply an outstanding restaurant located outside the traditional restaurant areas of Guatemala City, at Escala shopping center on Carretera a El Salvador.

Just looking at Tua's menu hints that one is in for a treat. The extensive menu features an eclectic mix of appetizers (e.g. Shrimp in Coconut Chutney), a variety of steak, poultry (e.g. Chipotle Chicken, Forest Fruit Duck Breast) and fish (e.g. Tamarind Bass) dishes, a very interesting take on lamb and pasta for which I hear I ought to go back for.

For an appetizer, the Tuna Tataki features fish of freshness and quality that is hard to find even at Japanese restaurants, and is presented with wontons and avocado . The balsamic infused steak was terrific, evenly cooked and rich in flavor. The steamed vegetables were nicely seasoned and crisply textured. The Parisian Café Steak is not necessarily an innovative dish, but it was very well executed. Of the desserts, I tried the fried banana à la mode and the hazelnut mousse, which was surprisingly solid but rich in texture and taste. The majority of the menu was left unexplored, but I invite you to be adventurous! I surely will next time.

Outstanding food, pleasant environment, and attentive service ages ahead of Guatemalan standards. Tua is the best restaurant I have been to in Guatemala; and certainly on par with the best restaurants I've been to in other countries.

La Mar (Lima, Peru)

Located in the Miraflores district of Lima, La Mar is an epicure's dream restaurant. La Mar is the brainchild of Gastón Acurio, one of the most prominent ambassadors of peruvian cuisine and a leader of the peruvian gastronomic rennaissance.

The extensive menu features all kinds of delicacies from under the sea. Cebiches, the specialty, are small pieces of raw fish or other seafood in a rich sauce, served cold. I found the Nikei and Mistura cebiches to be especially tasty. Tiraditos are Cebiches siblings where the emphasis is stronger on the seafood and less on the sauce. The menu features many other seafood-based specialties such as the delicious Arroz La Mar, which is most easily described as a peruvian interpretation of Paella. What is most important is that every ingredient is incredibly fresh, rendering the flavors more authentic and rich.

And for those of us who don't happen to be in Lima often, La Mar has branches in San Francisco, Sao Paulo, Mexico, Panama, Santiago and soon in Bogotá.