Please enter your feedback

T+L Members

Email or Username:

Password: Forgot Password?

Remember me on this computer

New User?

Username:

Email:

American Express Publishing ("AEP") may use your information to send you account updates and offers that may interest you, and may share such information with select business partners for you to receive offers from those partners. To learn more about the ways we may use and share your information and about your privacy choices, read the AEP Privacy Statement

Password (must be at least six characters) :

Confirm Password:

By checking the box and clicking submit below you acknowledge that you have read, understand, and agree to be bound by the terms of the following Terms and Conditions.

We sent an official communication to your email address provided during your registration. Please check your email and follow the instructions.

You must be logged-in to do that!

The World's Strangest Street Food

9 of 10

Photo: Bert de Ruiter / Alamy

ROASTED CUY
Otavalo, Ecuador

If you ever kept a guinea pig as a childhood pet, you'll probably want to avoid the open-air vendors (here and in other Ecuadorean cities) that sell roasted cuy. These rodents—farm-raised cousins of your old pal Fluffy—are spit-roasted whole, with their heads and claws still on. And smoky and delicious though the meat may be (reportedly the taste is similar to duck), watching the locals gnaw on it can be disconcerting.

Where to find it: Among the artisans' stalls at the outdoor Otavalo Market. More refined meals of cuy are also served at sit-down restaurants in Quito, Cuenca, and Guayaquil.

9 of 10

Travel + Leisure

The World's Strangest Street Food

What's your favorite thing to do during an airport layover?

Marketplace