Lima Day 8: My Brush with Fame (And the Beach, Sort Of).

First things First: I met a Celebrity today.

That's me & Grimanesa Vargas (she's the one on the right). She is the country's leading Anticucho chef. This was taken in her store, which has been open for about a year. Before that, she sold them for a zillion years from a cart on the street. People would wait a half hour for her Anticuchos; they're that much better than all the others in town. Anticuchos are Marinated Beef Hearts, by the way. It took me a while to warm up to them, but they are -- her's especially -- really good.

Friday morning, I was up and on the street very early, so I walked over to the Mercado and bought a Tamale and Bread form the Tamale Lady. I went home and had two Sandwiches.

Originally, the plan for today was to meet up with Alex, Dely and one of her friends and go o the beach. We were supposed to leave at 11:00.

It all went horribly wrong, and I was left to wander the streets around lunchtime with nothing to do. I saw a restaurant that claimed to have the best Caldo de Gallina, so in I went.

I ordered it. It wasn't the best. Not by a long shot.

That didn't stop me from eating it. Thankfully, the phone rang before I could order anything else. It was Dely, they were ready.

At 12:30? To first meet them and then drive to the beach? What the hell; I'm on vacation.

Alex picks me up, and we get the girls and arrive at the beach at around 2:00. We were at Punta Hermosa (the Beautiful Point). It was pretty enough, if there was sun (it was foggy), and it wasn't so late. Time for Lunch, Dely announced. I was game.

There are a bunch of restaurants right on the beach, the girls chose one, but I have no clue which one it was. We started with Concha and a free shot of Leche de Tigre.

I ordered a Crab Cebiche. I thought it was going to be Crab Meat, but I was wrong.

It kept me good and busy while everyone else ate easy-to-eat food. There were three crabs... it was fun. We ordered a plate of assorted fried Seafood to share. Mostly, me & Dely ate it. Lucero ate a bite or two, and Alex passed.

Lucero had a Causa, Dely had Scallops Cebiche, and Alex had (surprise!) Octopus. I had one of Dely's Scallops, just for good measure.

The food was OK, and the view (both at the table and of the beach) was nice, and the whole thing, including a couple of drinks, only came to $74.

After that, we had to walk on the beach and take some pictures.

It was just wacky.

 

Then, we got back in the car and drove back to Lima. We have plans to try again on Monday, but we will see.

Around 7:00, I started hitting the casinos near my house. It was Dinner time at Casino Atlantic City. On the menu: Rocoto Relleno.

I don't say no to Rocoto. It was OK, especially for free.

Luis is my taxi driver. He picked me up at a casino at around 9:00 pm, and we headed off. Our first stop was Grimanesa's Anticucho Store. Her menu is limited. Do you want two or three sticks of Beef hearts? Do you want Corn with that? How aboput Soda? That's it.

Luis and I both had two palitos. He had a Soda; I didn't. They make them right in front of you, sort of like they were still on a cart in the street, but with better ventilation.

At the Casino Fortuna, I had a few Potato Chips.

I left at around midnight. On the way home, we stopped at La Botica, and I had one more of their fabulous Stuffed Peppers. Much better than the free one in the casino, which was pretty good.