Stirring the Melting Pot
Pica Peru | www.peruculinaryvacations.com

With a history including the legacy of the Incas, Spanish conquistadores, and large Japanese and Chinese immigrant communities, Peru has an incredibly rich food culture. When writer/chef Kazia Jankowski traveled there to complete a guidebook, she was so taken with the people and their inventive approach to cuisine that she—along with Peruvians Sandra and Norma Gamio—created Pica Peru, an organization dedicated to exposing American foodies to Peru’s many gastronomic treasures.

Anarchy in the Kitchen
La Puerta Negra, Playa Zancudo, Costa Rica

On the secluded six-mile stretch of peninsula in southern Costa Rica known as Playa Zancudo—sometimes as little as 200-meters wide—sits a tiny, bustling, strange and delicious Italian restaurant, La Puerta Negra. To refer to its Genoa ex-pat owner, Alberto Ferrini, as "a character," would be akin to calling the Buddha, "some calm dude."