Friday @ Lima 51

Saturday, February 21

I had big Dinner plans, so I limited myself to three Bowls of Watermelon during the day.

Samantha and Brian came to Fort Lauderdale for the weekend to check in with Loretta. I picked them up at the airport and we headed out to her house, where the discussion immediately went to: What's for Dinner?

We settled on Lima 51 Ceviche Bar, which Loretta and I agree is the best Peruvian Restaurant in Broward County. As is the norm when dining with Loretta, we were the first customers for Dinner.

We started off by sharing two Appetizers.

The first one was their Causa Sampler. Causas are mashed (usually) Yellow Potatoes with some spices, held together with just some Lime Juice, and either topped with or sandwiched around various items. Basically, they are Peruvian Food Delivery Devices. They have gotten fancier over the years, as Peruvian Chefs have gotten more creative. From left to right, the Causas are topped with Octopus, Crab Meat, Shrimp and Tuna. As beautiful as this dish was to look at, it was even better to eat. I had half of the Octopus and Half of the Crab Causa.

The other Appetizer was Fish Cebiche in Salsa de Rocoto. Brian and I split that one, with just a little help from Samantha. The New York-based Friedmans have only tasted Cebiche 'classic' -- in Line Juice, so this was a treat for them. Whether I am here or in Lima, I usually try to get my Cebiche in Salsa de Rocoto. This is a very good example, but could have been a little spicier.

For our Main Courses, Loretta rocked her favorite, Pescado Saltado con Tacu Tacu.

This is a Fish version of the Peruvian Classic, with Fish chunks stir-fried with Onions and Tomatoes. It is normally served over French Fries (it works!) and with White Rice, but Loretta likes having it with a Tacu Tacu, which is a delicious Rice and Bean patty that is also used as a Food Delivery Device.

Samantha took my advice and ordered the Sudado de Pescado.

This dish contained a Fish Filet in a Stew (or Sauce, but not really a Sauce... it's hard to describe) with some Tomatos, Onions and other stuff going on. I first had this dish at El Kapallaq at their old location in Lima. I don't order it that often, but when I do, I am always happy. Samantha was blown away by the dish, and Brian help clean off her leftovers.

Brian and I shared a Ronda (assortment) for our Meal.

They called it something else, but as far as I'm concerned, it's a Ronda.

This featured (from the bottom) Rice & Chicken, a Causa, Jalea (assorted fried Seafood), and a mixed Fish and Seafood Cebiche. They were all fairly wonderful. I think that I liked the Jalea the best. It wasn't very heavily fried.

We passed on Coffee and Dessert, and that was it for the day. Here's one more picture of Brian & Samantha with our Appetizers.

Here's my steps for Friday.