Living in Mexico has made me a bit of a snob when it comes to Latin American cuisine. There are standout dishes in every country across the region – pupusas, arepas, ceviches, ají sauces, tapioca – but as a whole, it’s hard to beat the flavor and history cooked into Mexican food.

So imagine my surprise last week in Ecuador when I found myself texting a food-writer friend in Mexico photos of one of my final lunches. “This might be one of the best meals I’ve had all year,” I wrote her, accompanied by a picture of thinly sliced raw fish topped with scoops of savory ice cream that, as they melted, flooded the dish with an herby, nutty flavor. A few minutes later I was bombarding her with details of a salad, heaps of local herbs and greens on top of fried plantains and several varieties of peanuts (there are 17 indigenous to the province of Manabí, where I was reporting on the coast).

A few days before my trip I was talking with some colleagues about our work-travel habits. One reporter says she always prioritizes good meals: It’s what keeps her going on sometimes challenging trips. The other journalist and I all too frequently overschedule, working up to the point where we’re about to gnaw on our own arms. Thank goodness for airplane snacks miraculously still tucked into workbags. (And working through meals 100% does not make us better reporters!)

I’m not sure I’ve converted to someone who makes meal reservations alongside scheduling interviews. But visiting Iche – a restaurant with a job-training program aimed at offering youth employment opportunities amid growing violence in Ecuador (and mentioned by me in today’s Daily) – made me think twice about focusing just on my reporter’s notebook.