The World Almanac and Book of Facts 2000. World Almanac Books, 1999. Ecuador Soups are Ecuador's specialty. Most lunches and dinners are accompanied by a savory soup as the first course. Locro soup, made with cheese, avocado, and potato, is quite tasty.
Bold diners can try yaguarlocro, a potato soup made with sprinklings of blood.
For the truly adventurous, there is caldo de pata, a broth containing chunks of boiled cow hooves which is considered a delicacy by locals and believed by hopeful men to increase virility. More about Ecuador.