Lima Day 3: All of the Food Groups

Saturday, December 12

Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner... the big three!

BREAKFAST: I started with a walk in the morning, and wound up at La Preferida. They're a very civilized Cebicheria -- they open early in the morning. They have a menu, but they also sell Little Stuff, so that's what I went for, kind of.

You're looking at (on the left) two mini Fish Hamburgers with Cheese, Lettuce, Tomato and Avocado. And on the right, mini Shrimp Omelet Sandwiches. The second photo is something that they called Tapita de Atun. What it's made up of is a piece of Toast, covered with a section of Pastel de Papa, and topped with a slice of raw Tuna, then drizzled with Oil. The Fish Sandwiches were awesome, the Omelets were very good, and the Tuna thing was OK, but I wouldn't get it again.

As if that wasn't enough, I went to the well once again and ordered a Rocoto Relleno.

You put a Stuffed Pepper on the Menu; I'm going to order it.

LUNCH: Fernando picked me up. I jumped in the car and we headed to Lurin. Lurin is about an hour south of Lima, and is noted for its Campestres, which are kind of outdoor gardens, where you hang out, eat and drink, and eat and drink some more. And the kids run around. It's what they do here on the weekend.

There's a million of them, so we chose one at random and wound up at Restaurante Campestre Buena Vista. We got settled in and ordered. For our first course, I had Carpulcra con Sopa Seca, and Fernando had a Caldo de Gallina.

Carapulcra is a dish made of of dried Potatoes. And it often has either Pork or Chicken floating around in it. The Sopa Seca is, literally, dry Soup.. That's what they call Noodles here, sometimes -- I have no clue, but they offer it everywhere. They have lots of names for Noodles down here. Fernando's Calso de Gallina was a large Bowl of Chicken soup... he was very excited.

One of the things that you eat at a campestre is Pork. Just do it. For our Main Courses, I had Chancho al Cilindro, and Fernando went for the classic: Chicharron.

 

As far as I can tell, things made 'al Cilindro' are barbecued in a barrel (CLICK HERE if you want more photos and info), and the Chicharron is Fried Pork (not breaded or anything) then, sliced up and finished off on a grill. I often get Chicharron Sandwiches -- they're really good.

Then we drive back, and I rested up for Dinner.

DINNER: I met my friend Yoselin for dinner at Panchita. It's owned by Gaston Acurio, and is one of my favorite places.

We started out by sharing an order of Grilled Scallops.

They are served with a Sauce with the flavor of Lomo Saltado, so you get the Seafood, and the hint of something from the land at the same time. I almost always order these when I eat here.

The specialty at is Anticuchos. Originally, Anticuchos started as Grilled Beef Hearts on a stick, but they have evolved over the years to include anything that you can put a skewer through. I ordered an Anticucho of -- wait for it -- Octopus, and Yoselin chose Chicken.

You can't go wrong at a Gaston restaurant. Yoselin cleared her plate, and I ate all of the Octopus and half of the Potatoes.

We weren't going to order dessert, but we got to talking, and she told me that one of her favorites was Queso Helado. Strictly translated, that's 'Frozen Cheese,' but it's not. It's an Ice Cream-like dessert from the Southern city of Arequipa. It's not one of *my* favorites, it's my favorite. We both agreed that there's "always room for Queso Helado (siempre hay espacio por Queso Helado)," and we ordered one to share.

 

For my money, Panchita is a top-choice. It's not the cheapest place on the planet, but Dinner, including a soda for me and a fancy red drink for Yoselin, and extra tip, was $60. A bargain for food that tastes that good.



That was it for the day.