The food here is rather similar to what we might eat in the US. Common dishes include pasta, chicken, beef, rice with vegetables or meat, pizza, breaded filets of beef or chicken, mashed potatoes, steamed veggies with meat, etc. I wish there were more exotic fruits like I had in Mozambique, but the common ones are just apples, bananas, organs, grapes, kiwi, and peaches.
I think we might often have the image that all of Latin America is the same, but that's really not the case. I made tacos for some friends a few months ago and they had no idea what it was. Rice and beans are not by any means the base of all meals here.
There are four meals a day typically instead of three. Breakfast when you wake up (mate with bread/rolls/croissants), lunch around noon or 1 (any of the food mentioned above), merienda or a hearty snack around 5 or 6 (fruit, yogurt, cheese and crackers, bread, etc), and then dinner around 10 (again, any of the foods listed).
The most common meal for any special occasion or get together is an asado, which is basically a cookout. It involves a lot of grilled meat and can be accompanied by as little as bread and a basic tomato/onion salad, or there can be various side salads and potatoes and cassava. Beer and wine are also necessary elements of an asado, as is ice.
Ice cream isn't purchased in half-gallon containers of just one flavor. Instead heladerias, or ice cream shops, are common. You can buy ice cream by the kilo, and depending on how much you buy you can select various flavors. For example, if you want to buy a kilo, you can choose up to 4 flavors that will all be put in the Styrofoam container along with a topping of your choice.
A really delicious food here that we don't have are chipas. It's kind of like pao de queijo in Brazil. The dough is made from cassava flour, and the center is filled with cheese. Cassava is also common here.
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