Food
doesn't come high on the list of reasons to visit Guatemala. In general Guatemalans have fairly unadventurous tastes and seem to survive on a strict diet of eggs, beans and tortillas - in most towns a pizza is considered extremely exotic. However, in the main tourist centres there's much more choice, and in Antigua, Guatemala City and Panajachel you'll be able to feast on numerous different European cuisines, several Asian ones, all-American menus and even Middle Eastern dishes.
Traditionally, Guatemalans eat a
breakfast
of tortillas and eggs, accompanied by the inevitable beans.
Lunch
is the main meal of the day, and this is the best time to fill up as restaurants often offer
comidas corridas
, a set two- or three-course meal that sometimes costs as little as a dollar. It's always filling and occasionally delicious.
Evening meals
are generally more expensive.
Where to eat
The first distinction in Guatemala is between the
restaurant
and the
comedor
. Comedores are basic eateries that serve simple food at cheap prices - expect to pay around US$2 for a good feed. In contrast, restaurants are a purely...
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What to eat
Maya cuisine
is at the heart of Guatemalan cooking. Maize is an essential - in Maya legend, humankind was originally created from maize - and it appears most commonly as a thin corn pancake, the
tortilla
. The maize is traditionally...
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Drinks
To start off the day most Guatemalans drink a cup of weak
coffee
, which is usually loaded with sugar. It's becoming much easier to get a decent cup in tourist-oriented towns, but you're much more likely to be served brown-coloured slops...
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