Postcard: Lunch in Colonia, Uruguay

We arrived in Colonia on a sunny spring morning. My family and I were there to visit Uruguay's oldest town, a charming amalgam of Portuguese and Spanish colonial architecture along the Rio de la Plata. As we worked up our appetites climbing the stairs of the lighthouse and walking the cobblestone streets, we happened upon a small shop full of local wines and cheeses. In the back was an impossibly small kitchen looking out over a hidden courtyard. We sat down there, and as we watched the cook prepare our meal, we sipped on a red Uruguayan wine. Soon enough it was lunch time: a luscious pumpkin soup, creamy local cheese, and a savory leek tart. It was an unexpected, honest taste of Uruguay, right in the nation's heart. — Laura Loesch-Quintin