Eating in Cabanaconde is straightforward: simple Peruvian highland food (soup, rice, potatoes, alpaca steak, fried trout, plates of stewed chicken) at a handful of places clustered around the plaza. The hostels and small hotels mostly run their own restaurants and these are the easiest options for dinner — they cook around the menu and the climbing hikers' appetites.
The cafe at Pachamama Hostel is the long-running favourite for breakfast and pizzas, with a decent fire-warmed dining room useful on cold nights. Stock up on energy snacks and bottled water at the small shops on the plaza before heading down into the canyon; there is little for sale at the canyon-floor lodges and prices double as soon as you descend.