AP PHOTOS: Bolivian street food finds its place at the fine dining table

LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) — From the world’s highest navigable lake, Titicaca, comes a culinary treasure: crispy-skinned fish, cooked in a hot copper pan and served with Andean boiled corn and dehydrated potatoes in traditional clay dishes.

It’s a signature dish of Chef Dennis Llusco at La Rufina, a restaurant in the Bolivian capital, La Paz, that was recently lauded by the U.K.-based organization 50 Best Discovery as one of the world’s best restaurants.

“La Rufina started as a very small kitchen,” said the 30-year-old chef, a native of the Lake Titicaca region. “We never dreamed of having two locations or being included in the 50 Best Discovery list.”

Llusco is one of a growing wave of Latin American chefs drawing inspiration from their roots, elevating the humble street food of Bolivia to haute cuisine.

Stepping through La Rufina, opened in 2021, is like taking a journey through Bolivian traditions. Diners can mingle with cholitas — Indigenous women wearing the traditional, multilayered Andean skirts and black hats — and sample the flavors of street corners and markets.

The menu highlights local favorites, such as the baked potato stuffed with savory minced meat stew, a downtown La Paz staple. Another signature dish prepared by Llusco is “anticucho,” a popular Peruvian street food dish of grilled beef heart fillets served with potatoes and yellow chili pepper sauce.

Chef and food researcher Marko Bonifaz said Bolivia is undergoing an interesting movement that involves integrating haute cuisine with street food, and it is no longer just an attractive option for tourists, but for Bolivians themselves.

Llusco’s cuisine, deeply rooted in the teachings of her mother and aunt, who sold food on the streets of Bolivia, embodies this movement.

“These simple dishes reconnect us with our culture,” she said. “They make me very happy.”

Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

People line up to buy fast food on a sidewalk in La Paz, Bolivia, Tuesday, March 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)

Patrons eat at the Yungas market dining area in La Paz, Bolivia, Monday, March 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)

Anticuchos made of potato and pieces of beef heart are grilled at a street food stand in La Paz, Bolivia, Friday, March 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)

A vendor prepares "Anticucho," a beef heart based dish consisting of small pieces of grilled meat and potato on skewers, in El Alto, Bolivia, Saturday, March 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)

Chef Carolina Chuquimia prepares a dish of beef steak with yucca at La Rufina restaurant in La Paz, Bolivia, Sunday, March 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)

Street food vendors prepare "Anticucho," a beef heart based dish consisting of small pieces of grilled meat on skewers, in La Paz, Bolivia, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)

An Anticucho vendor prepares grilled potatoes and beef heart at her street food stand in La Paz, Bolivia, Friday, March 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)

People eat pork cracklings at a street food stall in La Paz, Bolivia, Sunday, March 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)

Street vendors prepare fast food on the streetside in La Paz, Bolivia, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)

A street food vendor prepares a traditional soup from the Andean region called "Wallake" made with fish from Lake Titicaca, in La Paz, Bolivia, Saturday, March 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)

A food vendor serves a plate to a customer on the street of La Paz, Bolivia, Tuesday, March 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)

A vendor selling peach drinks called "Mocochinchi" as he waits for customers at his street stand in La Paz, Bolivia, Friday, March 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)

People walk past La Rufina restaurant in La Paz, Bolivia, Thursday, March 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)

A food vendor prepares a dish at the Yungas Market dining room in La Paz, Bolivia, Monday, March 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)

Women eat noodle soup at a street stall in El Alto, Bolivia, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)

CHICAGO (AP) — At the very end of his seventh season as Green Bay's coach, Matt LaFleur saw a team that lacked composure at big moments in a playoff game.

It was an all-too-familiar scene for the Packers — one that will follow LaFleur for a long time.

“We’ve got to look at it. We’ve got to talk. There’s a lot of pieces,” he said. “All you’re trying to do in the moment is, when mistakes are made, you’re correcting them. There’s not long discussions on the sideline. It’s just you correct the mistakes and you try to keep it moving. And I felt like just our team got a little bit disheveled in the second half.”

It sure did.

Green Bay blew a 21-6 lead in the fourth quarter of a wild 31-27 loss to the Chicago Bears in the wild-card round of the playoffs on Saturday night. The collapse included two big misses by Brandon McManus on an extra point and a 44-yard field goal, along with a delay-of-game penalty coming out of a timeout and a fumbled snap on the final play of the game.

It was the fifth consecutive loss for Green Bay (9-8-1), a season-ending slide that featured two dramatic losses at Chicago. The Packers blew a 16-6 lead in the final minutes of regulation in a 22-16 overtime loss to the Bears on Dec. 20.

Green Bay dropped to 33-3 in the playoffs when it led by at least 10 points. The other losses were against the Seattle Seahawks in the 2014 NFC title game and the Philadelphia Eagles in the 2003 divisional round.

“We had a game where we couldn’t finish it and let a team come back and beat us,” quarterback Jordan Love said. “So it’s very disappointing to end the season on a note like that. So, yeah, everybody is very disappointed. I’m very disappointed, and that’s it.”

The tough finish could lead to major changes for Green Bay.

LaFleur and general manager Brian Gutekunst each have one year remaining on their contracts. Ed Policy, who took over as Green Bay's president and CEO last summer, has said he’s “generally opposed” to the idea of having a coach or GM enter the final year of a contract without an extension.

LaFleur, 46, declined to get into the specifics of his situation after the loss, but he said being Green Bay's coach “means everything” to him. He also got a vote of confidence from his quarterback.

“I definitely think Matt should be the head coach,” Love said. “I’ve got a lot of love for Matt, and I think he does a good job.”

Love threw three of his four touchdown passes in the first half. The Packers had a 21-3 lead when McManus missed a 55-yard field goal on the final play of the second quarter.

Love's 23-yard TD pass to Matthew Golden made it 27-16 with 6:36 left, but McManus was wide left on the extra-point attempt. His missed 44-yard try would have provided a 30-24 lead in the final minutes.

“It’s disappointing,” McManus said. “My role on the team is to make kicks and these guys pour in thousands of plays over the course of the season and I leave seven points on the board today. Like I said, it’s the most disappointing part of my career right now.”

A delay-of-game flag coming out of a Green Bay timeout played a role in the drive stalling ahead of McManus' final kick of the night. LaFleur called the penalty “inexcusable.”

The Packers drove to the Bears 23 on their final possession, but offensive lineman Rasheed Walker was called for a false start before Love threw two incomplete passes. The timing on the final play was thrown off when Love dropped the snap.

“We had a play called to be able to take a shot to the end zone,” Love said. “And then, depending on the coverage they were playing, how soft they were, trying to pick up an easy couple yards to the sidelines, that’s what we went to. When I fumbled the snap, couldn’t get that, it kind of turned into last-second Hail Mary.”

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

Green Bay Packers' Jordan Love talks after an NFL wild-card playoff football game against the Chicago Bears Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

Green Bay Packers' Jordan Love throws during the second half of an NFL wild-card playoff football game against the Chicago Bears Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Nam Huh)

Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur reacts during the second half of an NFL wild-card playoff football game against the Chicago Bears Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur reacts during the first half of an NFL wild-card playoff football game against the Chicago Bears Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)