Colombia

In Antioquia, the bandeja paisa is not a lunch — it is an event. Rice, red beans, ground beef, chicharrón, chorizo, plantain, avocado, arepa and a fried egg, all arranged on one enormous plate. The idea, roughly, is that a paisa farmer needed the energy to work a whole day up in the mountains. The rest of us just need a long siesta afterwards.

Down on the Caribbean coast, the mood softens: fresh red snapper with coconut rice, patacones with fried cheese, and a cold Águila as the sun goes down over Cartagena's old walls.