Jolke de riñon

I was a bit desperate for lunch today, so I wandered into the first local-looking restaurant that I stumbled across. It was a bit late — about 3pm — and when I asked them what they had on offer, they said that all they could give me was Jolke. I had no idea what Jolke was, but I was starving, so I said bring it on. Big mistake. Disgusting brown soup with horrible meat and various spices. Basically looks and tastes like a bowl of $—%#. Try and keep away from it during your next visit to Bolivia.

Amazingly, despite how gross the Jolke soup was, it didn't seem to make me sick at all. I have no idea how this is possible — it defies all laws of third-world eating no-no's — but hey, I ain't complaining. Also, it seems that Jolke is one of the "classic" and staple dishes of Bolivia. I think it's a pretty good all-round example of the standard of traditional Bolivian food, and it's a crystal-clear explanation of why I've never seen a "Bolivian restaurant" in any other country in the world.