Flavortown, Ecuador

It's unfair to food that the ratio between my talking and writing about it is so uneven. So at long last, here's a follow-up to my original food blog. Here's some of what I eat here. There's food from the mainland and from the islands. Also just as a heads up I've added a new category- Guy Fieri assessment of quality. He was nice enough to lend his talents of food critiquing to my experiences here. ¡Vamónos!

DISH: This suspicious looking ball which I cut open for a better view is called Corviche. The ball itself is a mix of plantains and peanut sauce. Maybe other things too, it was sort of a mystery. The inside of this one was fish, but they come in a variety of different seafood types. Fried of course, and served piping lava hot, as Jim Gaffigan might say.
LOCATION: Supposedly the most famous Corviche place on the coast. It was some little roadside hole in the wall if there were walls along a coastal jungle. Can't remember the name since it was months ago.
COMMENTARY: Against all odds, this was really good. Especially with the addition of hot sauce. I would have never expected to like a plaintain/peanut/fish mix, but I did. At the same time, nothing has ever sat heavier. Ever.
FIERI ASSESSMENT: Wow, locked and loaded down with flavor! Right away I taste that peanutty thing you've got going on. You're a gangster.
FIERI QUANTIFIED: 7.5

DISH: COCO cookie/cracker
LOCATION: Any tienda, but this artsy shot was taken back on the coast, during my first consumption.
COMMENTARY: Imagine a nilla wafer but with a little coconut flavor tossed in. Basically, imagine a wonderful snack that's cheap and readily available.
FIERI ASSESSMENT: I'm in love with the coco! It's like you infused all the vibes of an island into one dynamite flavor!
FIERI QUANTIFIED: 7.2

DISH: It's a typical seafood rice mix that I took a close-up picture of so that you can clearly see the OCTOPUS TENTACLE.
LOCATION: Somewhere on the coast
COMMENTARY: Pick around octopus at all costs. The Patrick Chewing of seafood. In terms of chewiness not awesomeness.
FIERI ASSESSMENT: "His seafood is so fresh it'll slap ya"
FIERI QUANTIFIED: Rest of dish 7, octopus 0

DISH: A hardly glorified hot-pocket. Contents include chicken and maybe a marinara sauce. Hot sauce on the side. Also a beer above.
LOCATION: At the top of the gondola at Pichincha Volcano.
COMMENTARY: Seasoning on the outer pastry was a nice touch. Hot sauce was a necessary one.
FIERI ASSESSMENT: "Dude, I've been stricken by chicken."
FIERI QUANTIFIED: 3.2

DISH: Cheeseburger with bacon, BBQ, and fried onions
LOCATION: Vaco y Vaca in Quito. Sort of like a Friendly's type place.
COMMENTARY: Incredible. Tasted like home. Makes me upset just to see this picture while I'm in the Galápagos, far from any Vaco y Vaca establishment.
FIERI ASSESSMENT: "Shut the front door, son of Tatum O'Neal, that's dynamite."
FIERI QUANTIFIED: 10

DISH: The experimental "Avalancha" (Avalanche for all you gringos out there) from KFC. The mix-in I chose is like an Ecuadorian moon pie.
LOCATION: KFC, same food court as the Vaco y Vaca.
COMMENTARY: Will never overtake or even compete with a Blizzard, but falls just about in line with your typical McFlurry. I respect what they're doing. Who knows if it'll reach the states anytime soon.
FIERI ASSESSMENT: "Off the hook"
FIERI QUANTIFIED: 6.8

DISH: Helado de mora (Blackberry Ice Cream)
LOCATION: Zanzibar in San Cristóbal. Little spot near school that has some food and $1.50 ice cream cones
COMMENTARY: Not that far from black raspberry. Also good to eat any mora product because it's horribly invasive on the islands and is taking over many of the endemic and native plants
FIERI ASSESSMENT: "I could put this on a flip flop and it would taste good"
FIERI QUANTIFIED: 8.7

DISH: A slab of beef, salad, and boiled yucca
LOCATION: A food stand open during a festival for appreciation of the farmers up in the highlands here on San Cristóbal
COMMENTARY: This is a fairly typical looking plate here with one glaring exception- no rice. This may have been the only plate I've ever been served without rice. Salad here is bland as can be but that's all right. Meat was solid. Yucca is actually quite good, especially when fried
FIERI ASSESSMENT: "Do you have a garden hose? Something I can clean up with?" (they didn't give us any utensils)
FIERI QUANTIFIED: 4.8

DISH: The super combo. Burger, fries, and a smoothie for five bucks
LOCATION: Cabaña Mi Grande, San Cristóbal
COMMENTARY: I can't say definitively if that's even a burger patty in there, since it's sort of yellow and I think it might be like a sloppy joe packed down, but here's the thing- it's dope. This place is a weekly staple, mostly because it's a change-up from the chicken and rice scene
FIERI ASSESSMENT: "This patio goes off the hook- I think the folks are in a Flavortown food coma"
FIERI QUANTIFIED: 7.7

DISH: Chicken empanada for a buck
LOCATION: Empanada lady. Location changes. She owns a cart and it shows up in different parts of town
COMMENTARY: Not much to say, just a great empanada
FIERI ASSESSMENT: "I'm driving the bus to Flavortown"
FIERI QUANTIFIED: 9.2

DISH: "Angry" Pizza. Bacon, basil, hot peppers
LOCATION: Cafe Hernán on Santa Cruz Island
COMMENTARY: Best pizza on the islands and it's not close. Stacks up to some home pizzerias even
FIERI ASSESSMENT: "Holy clam, Batman!"
FIERI QUANTIFIED: 9.5

DISH: Ceviche. Coastal specialty. A chilled soup of fish cooked in limón juice, along with cilantro, onions, and tomatoes. Customary to have chifles and popcorn to mix in
LOCATION: The only ceviche place in town that anyone goes to
COMMENTARY: Apart from the popcorn and chifles, I like none of the ingredients of ceviche on its own. Not the biggest fish fan, never liked tomatoes or onions. But for whatever reason, they all come together to make a really good dish. Especially with a little of their homemade hot sauce mixed in, this is the best local food there is.

FIERI ASSESSMENT: "Brother, that's a symposium of flavor"
FIERI QUANTIFIED: 8.3