And if you happen into Ferdinando's Focacceria in Brooklyn they have Manhattan Special on their soda fountain. That with a panelle special and you're in business.

If you get a chance to have a yo-yo mixto you will absolutely plotz! Instead of the fried green bread replacement of a patacon it has mashed ripe sweet plantain in its place. Can't miss food at Everything is smothered in sauces, corn, lettuce, and cheese. The most amazing delivery option in Inwood, and one of the greatest late night options. The perfect accompaniment to a night of Alan Alda movies and a 24 oz. can of Coors. Do I want maracuya, or don't I? It'll be here in twenty minutes...

Russ and Daughters sable with scallion cream cheese, herring in cream extra onions eaten with torn pieces of pumpernickel bagel, Super Heebster consumed on a bench at Nathan Straus Playground or Seward Park if too many kids are around.

Hard-boiled egg meatball is always a treat. These look like a perfect order-in option. I would definitely invite those guys to my couch for dinner.

Dios mio! Que diferente ese sope, pero no hay algo que quiero comer mas. Gracias para el viaje, siempre me enamora tus fotos y info.

Not that I have anything to compare it to, but I had a version of these at A-Wah. The peanuts were coarser, but they were delicious. Eating in Translation has a pic http://www.eatingintranslation.com/2010/07/awah.html. Are they as good as Hong Kong? I have no idea.

Anticuchos de corazon in Tiwanaku, Bolivia. Sure, I had already acclimated to the altitude of La Paz, but maybe the bus, an even higher altitude, perhaps the hooch, the blistering cold ,or all the elements mixed with a crowded plaza made me unwell. I rested and tried to recover myself so I could enjoy a dance with my Bolivian friend at the celebration of the Aymara New Year, the southern hemisphere winter solstice. I cooled it with the drinking, except some warm frothy milk ponche mixed with booze, which I had to try.

The wind and cold altiplano air was taking its toll, and I was seemingly the wet blanket of my group. But there were little grills on the way from the town plaza to the ruins where the first sun rays of the year were taken through the Puerta del Sol. But, before arriving and waiting for the sun I ate heart skewers. Some fall ill and abstain, but I chose to indulge. The line for meat was long and the heart delivered warmth and charred fuel. An accompanying green salsa for brightness and I was ready for the sun. Maybe grilled heart on a stick was what I needed all along.

This article is great, and though I've heard of mixiote I look very much forward to the next installment. My jealousy is salivating.

I'm with Saria, it's important to qualify what your idea of good Mexican food is. It isn't one food across a vast country, but a patchwork of impressive regional specialties. Is there more in California certainly, is there a lack of SF mission style burritos? Yes. I think maybe the mid-range Mexican food in NY, mostly gringo fare, is abominable but if you're willing to find the cheap spots there are tremendous rewards. Trucks, bodegas, and small storefronts are wonderful. In Inwood where the food is decidedly not diverse, mostly Dominican, I can get excellent 3 excellent gorditas for $6. Is there great Mexican in every neighborhood, probably not.

But, where there are Mexicans there is good food. Go to Queens, get off the 7 train at 82nd eat a tamale from the lady at the bottom of the stairs, walk down the street for a handmade quesadilla of squash blossoms, then tell me NYC doesn't have great Mexican food. It all depends on what kind of snob you are, I'm from Arizona where Mexican food is everywhere, just look a little harder here and hopefully the snobbery will be broken. But if what you're looking for is primarily overstuffed flour tortillas, yes, you may be out of luck.

Esca had them when I was there two weeks ago.