Culinary Adventures in Lima

I've been meaning to write a little bit about the food we experienced while in Lima. At this point it is far from real time. But I want to jot down a few notes before the memories fade too much, as the food was truly amazing and I want to have at least a little bit of a record.

There were really three categories of food that we experienced while in Peru. There was simple, nearly street food. This was just homemade stuff that was easy to find and is classic Peru. Then there was mid-range food at restaurants that were frequented by a variety of locals and tourists alike. And, finally, some really high end places with food that could compete with anyplace in the world. I'll talk a bit about each category.

"Street" Food

We were really fortunate to find a number of restaurants, markets, and vendors that provided some truly outstanding ingredients and classic Peruvian fare. The fist place that comes into my mind in this category is Carniceria Tito, a sausage shop that was within five blocks of our apartment. These guys know how to make good sausage. They also have a wide range of imported beef and other meat, but the real deal was the sausage. They had about 15 different varieties, and every one we tried was delicious. We discovered, way too late in the trip, that they also fire up the grill on Saturdays and serve up their sausages cooked and ready to go. These are the best grilling sausages I've ever had. The quality was outstanding and the value was tremendous.

There were a handful of other experiences along these lines. There were the nuns who sold tamales at the market on Saturdays. There were street vendors who sold grilled and marinated beef heart (it's better than you might guess). There was this place, that had the best anticuchos (that's what the grilled beef heart is called) that we ate. And, of course, we cannot forget to mention the rotisserie chicken, pollo a la brasa. For our money, we liked the Pardo's located closest to our apartment. It was always delicious and affordable, though we've heard the quality at different locations can vary somewhat. Peruvian chicken is just amazing. Always cooked over charcoal, and seasoned perfectly. This was a dinner for us just about once a week.

Midrange

In the mid-range we are generally talking about restaurants. There was a Tanta right across the street from us, which is a relatively affordable place that is part of Gaston Acurio's Pervian restaurant empire. Acurio, if you've never heard of him, is Peru's unofficial culinary ambassador. A celebrity chef, he has restaurants all over the world, and the range of places he has inside of Peru is impressive. The man is so famous and popular that a routine survey question in national polls is whether one would support Acurio for president. His support is typically in the high 80s. That would erode in a serious campaign, but it suggests his level of popularity. Anyway, Tanta was an excellent choice for nicely done classic Peruvian.

Another of our favorites was not classic Peruvian at all. It was Acurio's gourmet burger place, which distinguishes itself by making American-style burgers with Peruvian-influenced toppings. The burgers were as good as I've had anywhere, and the options were much different than at home. If you're ever in Lima, the place is called Papacho's.

For ceviche, Peru's most popular dish, we preferred El Pez Amigo for a nearby option that was not very expensive. They also had wonderful shrimp stew and all the fish dishes were good as well. Toward the end of the trip, we found El Pan de la Chola, a bakery that also served light breakfast items for a nice Saturday brunch. This place was a hike from our apartment, but the walk made it easy to justify a little extra food and drink before making the return. The bread at this place would compete anywhere in the world. The seriously thick crisp crust with a chewy, delightful interior was amazing. I've had bread at what are supposed to be some of the best bakeries in Paris. The bread at this place in Lima was better. No doubt. We also ate twice (which was odd given its location but speaks to the quality) at a little Spanish place in Barranco. It really reminded us of being in Spain. The owners were clearly Spanish and the food was wonderful and packed full of value. Get the razor clams if you've never had them.

High End

We also splurged on a few really nice meals in Lima. At the very top of the heap was Central. The concept here is unique and hard to find Peruvian ingredients. The chef here has a serious appreciation for the biodiversity that is present in Peru. Think about it. You have the Pacific Ocean right next the the cold Humboldt current, which does wonderful things for options from the sea. You have the Andes, where thousands of species of potatoes and other interesting ingredients can be found. Then there is the jungle, which is teeming with strange and wonderful things to eat. You put all of this in the hands of an elite chef, and it's no mystery how amazing food will be created.

At Central, the thing to do is the 18 course tasting menu. It's not cheap. We did one meal there to celebrate my birthday, our anniversary, and probably three other things to justify the splurge. But this place is seriously good. If Michelin rated restaurants in Peru, this would be three stars. I'm no expert. But I've been to a handful of restaurants receiving the highest grade from the Michelin guide, and there is no way this place fails to get three stars. Given that, it is actually quite affordable. Not the cheapest three star in the world. But one of the cheapest. Here are just a few pictures from that meal. First, an overview of the menu, sorry for the shadow. And then some of the beautiful and delicious dishes.

I'll just mention a couple of other really nice places. La Mar is Acurio's ceviche place. It is world class. It is much more expensive that Pez Amigo. But it is not crazy. I think we went there at least four times in the three months we were there. We should have gone more. We also hit the buffet brunch at the J.W. Marriott a few times. It's hard to find a real breakfast in Lima, but this was it. Not the best value in the world but we were really hungry for an American style breakfast a couple of times and went there to our satisfaction. We also ate at an Amazonian restaurant called Amaz. Very good. Not great. But a nice opportunity to try some food that is very unusual in a much easier to get to location than the Amazon itself. Finally, there was Rafael and Fiesta (get the arroz con pato). Both were very, very good. As I think back, we ate at four of the top 50 restaurants in Latin America according to San Pellegrino's rankings. Central is number 1. It was a wonderful culinary adventure.