The two cities of Nagarote and La Paz Centro have a disagreement that started decades ago. The legend is that in the 1980′s, when the government of Nicaragua started promoting tourism, La Paz Centro put up a big sign that said “Birthplace of the Quesillo.” Nagaroteñans disagree heartily, claiming that the Quesillo originated in Nagarote and was stolen by La Paz Centro. Given that the two towns are only 9 miles apart, I think both claims are sketchy.
A quesillo is a tortilla with a thin stretchy cheese (kind of like mozarella), chopped onions, and heavy cream. The roll them up in a plastic bag of course, and I just learned the Nicaraguan trick to eating them without spilling the cream everywhere. Eat the tortilla and cheese 2/3 of the way down, then tie a not in the plastic bag. Flip it over, and bite the corner off the plast bag, so you can suck out the cream and eat the rest of the creamy, gooey, flavorful quesillo.
Luis quiere una más...
After two weeks of bugging me everytime we drive past La Paz Centro for Quesillos, I treated the interns and project Coordinator Luis to Quesillos and Tiste, a drink made from corn, ground cocoa, and cinnamon. We are drinking the tiste out of traditional cups made from Jicara shells.
Proof!
January 27, 2010 at 2:51 am
[...] yellow school bus to the cleanest city in Nicaragua: Nagarote. Nationally known for its quesillos, of which we were culinarily underwhelmed, Nagarote is a pleasantly walkable city where people sit [...]
January 23, 2010 at 2:51 pm
[...] yellow school bus to the cleanest city in Nicaragua: Nagarote. Nationally known for its quesillos, of which we were culinarily underwhelmed, Nagarote is a pleasantly walkable city where people sit [...]