LIMA DAY 6: Panchita

Wednesday, March 11

Before starting work, I took a walk and hit up one of the Chicharron places in Surquillo.

For purposes of this discussion, 'Chicharron' refers to the process of frying up some chunks of Pork, cutting them up, grilling them on a griddle and putting them inside of a Roll with a couple of slices of Camote (Sweet Potato) on the bottom, and a little Salsa Criolla (Onions, Oil, Pepper, Salt and Lime) on top.

I had one hell of a Chicharron Sandwich.

Ed and I met up at around 11:00 and spent a few hours just Peru-ing around. Finally, we wound up in Santa Catalina and popped into a random Caldo de Gallina place.

They're open 24 hours: Check. I love Soup: Check. Ed is pretty agreeable when it comes to humoring me about food: Check. They had Soup: Bingo.

I order tyhe giant and Ed orders the regular Caldo.

Caldo de Gallina is basically, Chicken Noodle Soup. Except it is Peruvian, so it is better.

I finish mine; Ed finishes half of his. We get out of the place (including a soda) for less than ten bucks.

We take a cab most of the way home, and stop to visit the Seafood Lady at the Mercado in Surquillo, just to say hello. Walking back to Miraflores, we stopped and I bought a Grape Cremolada from one of the 809031269430 places that sell them.

It was cold and delicious. And a dollar.

After resting, we met for Dinner and headed over to Panchita. This is the place I went to last week, just because I was walking by. Ed had never been there, and it's a real teat. We had reservations for tonight.

We started with the Breads.

These are just about the only Breads I will eat. They're excellent.

We split two Appetizers: Grilled Scallops and a Rocoto Relleno (Stuffed Pepper).

The Scallops were a hybrid: Seafood in a Sauce that usually comes with a Lomo Saltado, which is a Steak Dish. I ate three; Ed had one. We split the Stuffed Pepper 50-50.

For my Main Course, I had the Arroz con Pato (Rice with Duck). Yo Amo Pato (I love Duck). The Duck was perfect and there was just too much of the Rice to finish. Ed had an Anticucho de Lomo -- basically Meat on a Stick with the sauce that they usually use on Beef Hearts on a Stick. He loved it, and wants to figure out how to make the Sauce.

For Dessert, Ed trusted me to split the Queso Helado.

He was surprised to hear me raving about Dessert, until he tried it. Another thing he wants to make now.

I know that I say this a lot, but I could eat here every day. For the variety and quality, it can't be beat. Our total Dinner (without Drinks) only came to $75 -- a bargain. Drinks are costly there, but they are optional.

After that, we made donations at every Casino in Miraflores. Here's my steps for the day.