Arreglados - sandwiches or tiny puff pastries stuffed with beef, cheese,
or chicken. Greasy!
Arroz con pollo - a basic dish of chicken and rice
Casado - arroz (rice), frijoles (black beans), carne (beef), repollo (cabbage),
and plantano (plantain). Avocado (aguacates) or egg may also be included.
Ceviche - marinated seafood, often chilled, made of corvina (sea bass),
langostinos (shrimps), or conchas (shellfish). Normally served with lemon,
chopped onion, garlic, and sweet red peppers.
Chorreados - corn pancakes, often served with sour cream (natilla)
Elote - corn on the cob, either boiled (elote cocinado) or roasted (elote asado)
Empanadas - turnovers stuffed with beans, cheese, meat, or potatoes
Enchiladas - pastries stuffed with cheese and potatoes and occasionally meat
Gallo - tortilla sandwiches stuffed with beans, cheese, or meat
Gallo pinto - the national dish (literally "spotted rooster"), made of lightly
spiced rice and black beans. Traditional breakfast (desayuno) or lunch dish.
Sometimes includes huevos fritos (fried eggs).
Olla de carne - soup made of squash, corn, yuca (a local tuber), chayote
(a local pear-shaped vegetable), ayote (a pumpkin like vegetable), and potatoes
Palmitos - succulent hearts of palm, common in salads
Patacones - thin slices of deep-fried plantain. A popular Caribbean dish.
Served like French fries.
Pescado ahumado - smoked marlin
Picadillo - a side dish of fried vegetables and meat
Sopa negra - a creamy soup, often with a hard-boiled egg and vegetables soaking
in the bean broth
Sopa de mondongo - soup made from tripe (the stomach of a cow)
Tamales - boiled cornmeal pastries stuffed with corn, chicken, or pork, and
wrapped in a banana or corn leaf. A popular Christmas dish.
Tortillas - Mexican-style corn pancakes or omelets.
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Art and Culture 
