DEFINITIONS FOR DINERS

* Whether you're planning a trip to southern Florida or just interested in broadening your culinary vocabulary, here's a glossary of popular ethnic specialties featured on many restaurant menus:

Arepas: A Colombian cornmeal griddle cake.

Batido: A Hispanic milkshake made with fruit, ice, and sweetened condensed milk.

Bollitos: Cuban black-eyed pea fritters.

Bunuelos: Figure-eight-shaped fritters made of yuca and malanga dough, served with star anise-scented syrup.

Cascos de Guayaba: Poached guava shells (usually served with cream cheese or salty farmer's cheese).

Cerdo Frito: Nicaraguan-style pork marinated in vinegar and annatto seed, then fried.

Djon-Djon: Tiny black dried mushrooms used by Haitians. Often cooked with rice.

Elena Ruz: Cuban sandwich of turkey, cream cheese, and strawberry jam on a sweet roll. Named after a Havana socialite.

Enchilado: Seafood in Cuban-style creole sauce flavored with tomato, onion, garlic, oregano, and cumin.

Escabeche: Cuban pickled fish.

Fufu: Cuban mashed boiled green plantain served with garlic and pork cracklings.

Galletas: Cuban crackers.

Guarapo: Sugarcane juice.

Indio Viejo: Literally, ``Old Indian,'' a creamy Nicaraguan stew of brisket, onions, butter, cream, and eggs.

Langosta: Spiny lobster (also called Florida lobster)

Mojo: A vinaigrette-like Cuban sauce made with garlic and sour-orange juice.

Pinolillo: A Nicaraguan drink made with cocoa, cinnamon, cloves, and toasted cornmeal.

Pudin: Egg custard.

Ropa Vieja: Literally ``old clothes,'' it's Cuban shredded steak stewed with peppers, onions, and tomato sauce.

Sancocho: A Colombian stew of meat, corn, and root vegetables.

Tres Leches: ``Three milks'' cake, Nicaragua's most famous dessert. Made with fresh milk, evaporated milk, and sweetened condensed milk. It consists of sponge cake soaked with a creamy syrup and topped with meringue.

Yuca Con Mojo: Boiled cassava root with garlic-lime sauce.