Travel Channel host Andrew Zimmern recently raved about Nicaragua on his blog. He visited the land of lakes and volcanoes last winter, in search of strange foods during a quick-paced, jam-packed week, filming an episode of "Bizarre Foods."

"Get a local bus," he advises, "preferably one that goes to Matagalpa. At every stop on the 3 hour trip, vendors swarm the bus vending common foods with uncommon twists, like cabbage salad with fried pork skin, chilies and lime." This was his first encounter with vigorón, which he called "explosively fresh" in the show.

Zimmern also devotes an entire chapter to Nicaragua in his new book, The Bizarre Truth: How I Walked out the Door Mouth First . . . and Came Back Shaking My Head. The chapter on Nicaragua is entitled "Juicy Cheese Worms are Making a Comeback" and features the culinary exploits of my friend, Chef Luis Octavio Gomez at Los Chocoyos restaurant in Granada. 

One more: Andrew Zimmern's Nicaraguan nicknames, plus an interview on globalization, immersive travel, and the royal rat->