Street Classic · Yuca & Chicharrón

Vigorón

Photo: Nicaraguan food / Wikimedia Commons · Public domain

It is most closely tied to the kiosks around Granada's Parque Central, where vendors still serve it on banana leaves from morning until evening.

Vigorón layers boiled yuca (cassava), crispy pork chicharrón, and a vinegary cabbage-and-tomato salad (ensalada de repollo) on a banana leaf. It's eaten by hand, folding the leaf up like a makeshift plate.

Why it's made this way: Created in Granada in 1914 by vendor María Luisa Cisneros, it was designed as a filling, energizing meal for working people, its name borrowed from a tonic advertised as 'vigorón' for its invigorating effect.