Luis Galindo Latin American

Here’s our Luis Galindo rule: you come here on Thursdays, sit down at the long counter by the sandwich station, and order the ajiaco a la criolla. It’s a hearty Cuban soup with pork, yuca, malanga, platanos, and chunks of corn still on the cob. This ajiaco is a little thick, and unlike Colombian ajiaco, it doesn’t have any potatoes. We know this sounds counterintuitive, but it’s the perfect food to get you sweating and cooled down on a hot summer day. If it's not Thursday (the only day ajiaco is available), there’s no need to fiddle through their big laminated menu complete with jewelry exchange ads. You’re ordering the tamal en cazuela—a thick corn stew with braised pork.