Arepa de Huevo de Luruaco

The technique is the whole thing. A disc of ground maize dough goes into hot oil until it puffs and separates into two layers with a pocket between; it is lifted out, a small cut is made in the edge, a raw egg is poured into the pocket - sometimes with seasoned minced meat - the cut is sealed, and it goes back into the oil until the egg sets inside. Done properly the shell is crisp and the egg is just cooked. Luruaco, on the road between Cartagena and Barranquilla, is where the reputation sits: rows of stalls line the highway through the town, buses stop, and the place holds an annual festival for it. It is eaten with the hands, hot, usually with suero costeno on the side.

What you actually see

• A double fry - puffed and split first, filled, then fried again.
• A raw egg poured into the pocket - and cooked inside the shell.
• Roadside stalls through Luruaco - where buses stop.
• An annual festival - held in the town for the dish.

When to go

Year round; mornings are when they are freshest. A meal.

Honest expectations

Quality varies stall to stall and a badly made one is greasy. It is heavy and fried. Roadside stalls are informal - pick a busy one with high turnover. The town is a stop on the highway, not a destination.

Nearby

Cartagena is west; Barranquilla is east.