Self described \"economist by day and diner by night\" Tyler Cowen writes an article in the Washington Post on ethnic dining in the Washington metropolitan area. People are often surprised when I tell them there are many Bolivian restaurants in the area, although less so than before. In his article, he interviews Victor Serrano, owner of Victor\'s Grill in Falls Church. By far, the best Bolivian restaurant in the area where you can eat the always-popular-with-the-gringos Salteñas as well as delicacies like Lengua, Fricase, and Bolivian Chicaron.

As Serrano points out, \"Our competition is not right next door. We compete with . . . restaurants five or 10 miles away.\"

My eating odyssey has uncovered other surprises and undermined old assumptions. Who would have guessed, for example, that good Peruvian and Bolivian restaurants outnumber Mexican ones in a region that is home to more than 32,000 Latino-owned businesses and where one in 11 residents is Latino?