Popayán was declared a UNESCO City of Gastronomy in 2005 — the first in the Americas — and the local food culture deserves the recognition. The signature dish is empanadas de pipián, small fried empanadas filled with mashed yellow potato and peanut, served with a sharp peanut hot sauce. Look also for carantanta (crisp dried corn dough eaten with the same peanut sauce), sancocho de gallina (a long-cooked chicken soup), and tamales de pipián.
Most of the good restaurants are within five minutes of Parque Caldas. Mid-range traditional restaurants are the strongest category — Popayán has fewer ambitious modern kitchens than Bogotá or Medellín, but the everyday cooking is excellent.