La cocina Limeña

Lima is considered by many to be the "gastronomic capital of the Americas," and until the past week I wasn't really feeling that title. I had not yet had a chance to sample Lima's restaurant scene (unless you count the restaurants in the El Polo shopping center across from the Embassy... and I don't), as it is based in Miraflores and San Isidro, the cool neighborhoods in Lima. However, this week it all changed. For those of you who know me well, you know that if I am going to try a regional specialty, I will wait until I have found the best place to try it (Chicago style pizza and hot dogs, crabcakes, etc.) So naturally, I had been waiting to try cebiche until I could try it in the right setting. The right setting for me means a noted cebicheria and not just some hole in the wall. Not that hole in the wall cebicherias are without merit or anything, just that I didn't want to get sick on my first kind of raw fish (though not really) concoction. Anyhow, so I went to Punto Azul, a cebicheria popular among the Embassy crowd. My econ section colleagues and I ordered a variety of dishes, including a mixed seafood cebiche, causa de langostinos (potato dumpling stuffed with shrimp), chicharrones de pescado y pollo (fried fish and chicken), and arroz Punto Azul (the house seafood rice). Everything was so wonderful. The cebiche had such a fresh, tart flavor, and it was exquisite. It was without a doubt the best sampling of Peruvian cuisine I've had.

Some other popular non-seafood Peruvian dishes are lomo saltado (a Peruvian steak stir fry), papas a la huancaina (potatoes in a cheesy "Huancaina" sauce), rocotos rellenos (stuffed rocoto peppers), and arroz con pollo (rice with chicken). I've had most of these so far and enjoyed them, but for me they just do not hold a candle to all the amazing seafood dishes. I have been cookbook shopping and think I may have found a winner in The Art of Peruvian Cuisine by Tony Custer. It comes in both Spanish and English versions, and while I would love to be able to cook "fluently" in Spanish, I think I'm going to go for the English version. I am really looking forward to being able to cook some new dishes for everyone back home.

Last night Amy, Devin, Anirudh (Devin's delightful visiting boyfriend), and I went to Rosa Nautica (www.larosanautica.com) for dinner. Rosa Nautica is a seafood restaurant that is actually on the ocean, and while there are many restaurants on the beach, this is the only one built over water (see first photo). The views are beautiful and you can see and feel the waves lapping against the restaurant's supports ("sealegs," if you will) as you dine. I had the arroz con mariscos de la Rosa Nautica, which was a tasty creole rice with scallops, octopus, squid, shrimp and fish (see second photo). It was phenomenal. I am going to try to figure out how to make something similar once I get home; maybe the Art of Peruvian Cuisine can help me out... After our main dishes we all decided to have some dessert. The waiters brought all of us dessert menus in English, and Devin and I noticed an interesting translation on the menu. Naturally, I had to order the "Lúcuma tart with Alaskan railing shape on a chocolate mirror" out of curiosity. Lúcuma is a Peruvian fruit, so there was no question about what it was, but what the hell is 'Alaskan railing shape'? And how can there be a chocolate mirror? Well, my dessert came out and my questions were left unanswered. We guessed that the Alaskan railing shape is the pattern drawn in the chocolate which is not particularly mirrorlike (see third photo). Still, the tart was tasty and, overall, the meal was fantastic.

I plan to visit a few more popular Lima restaurants over the coming months to sample more of the gastronomy. I am planning to go to Astrid y Gastón (www.astridygaston.com), which is quite possibly the most famous Peruvian restaurant. Gastón Acurio is Peru's answer to Emeril or Bobby Flay; he's their own celebrity chef. Everyone here refers to him by his first name only, and his exploits make news regularly. He may actually be more popular here than Emeril is in the US. I also want to dine at Pescados Capitales, a seafood restaurant whose name is a play on the phrase "pecados capitales" or "mortal sins." There you can order "lust" or even "wrath" and enjoy a little sinfulness. I hear the food is good, but I want to check it out for its cleverness.

Anyhow, if you are interested in learning more about Peruvian cuisine, check out the following:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/08/AR2007060801119.html

http://travel.nytimes.com/2008/06/01/travel/01Hours.html?scp=1&sq=lima&st=cse