Lima Day 9: A Trip to Chorrillos

Friday, December 18

So I didn't leave the house all morning. I'm too old to be running around all night and get up early. And I will stop doing it, just as soon as I am 80.

At Dinner the other night, Veronika asked me how I discovered Amoramar. I told her that it was recommended by Cinthya a few years ago. She (Veronika) is under the impression that I just randomly wander the streets of Peru in neighborhoods that I have no reason to be visiting, scouting out places to eat. I told her that she was crazy.

So today, I was randomly wandering the streets of Peru in a neighborhood that I had no reason to be visiting, just scouting out places to eat. First, I stumbled upon a mercado that wasn't as, um, elegant as the ones that I am used to. And it spilled into the streets, possibly because of the holidays, or maybe because it could. I didn't want to just whip out my camera, but it was pretty impressive.

Anyway, standing in the middle of the chaos was a guy selling Choclos (Giant Mutant Corn - CLICK HERE for Wikipedia page). I love Giant Mutant Corn, and he was an excellent Photo Op.

The Corn was 2 and a half soles (75 cents), and I let him upsell me another 15 cents for a hunk of the Spanish Cheese that Doesn't Melt.

That was good, and got my motor started. I passed a random Cevicheria, and had the $5 Lunch Special, a Bowl of Parihuela, and a whole, Fried Trout.

I am still sometimes using the Vivid Color button on my Camera. This Parihuela (for virtually free) was much, much better than the one that I had (foreshadowing alert!) in the Clip Joint the other day.

After, the random wandering continued,  And I stumbled upon Cebicheria El Marati, on some not-too-pretty side street. It was about 3:30, late for Lunch, but it was still full of happy people eating their food. I decided to join them.

Remember that terrible tourist place I went to the other day? Well, El Marati is everything the other place was trying to make believe it was. I'm not sure how to explain it, but it was just... real, where the other place was all fake. Here's a picture of the entrance, courtesy of Google Maps.

So you walk in and there's a dining room with 34698 waiters running around. Further back, there's an outside courtyard. I headed there.

In the courtyard were tables with Umbrellas, many of them full of people. There were kids running around, and I was probably the first English-speaking customer that they had in 2015. These people don't have a website, aren't on Trip Advisor, and the latest post on their Facebook Page is from 2013... you get the type of place it is.

I started with the same thing I ordered in the Tourist Trap: Leche de Tigre.

This one was delicious. The Fish was fresh and cut up correctly.

For my Main Course, I asked the waiter if they had... wait for it -- Octopus. "Of course, senor," he said (in Spanish). "On the Grill?"

"Of course, senor," I said (in Spanish).

The plate that came out was beautiful. The pictures I took don't do it justice.

This was half a Grilled Octopus, with the Tentacles split, on top of a TON of fresh Vegetables -- Broccoli, Squash, Onions, Mushrooms, String Beans, Asparagus, Potatoes, and more. And there were three balls of (I think) Fried Mashed Yucca, but possibly, Fried Mashed Yellow Potato along on the side.

It was too much for me. I had half of the Octopus on the plate, some of the Vegetables, one of the Balls, and I had them wrap up the rest to go. When I got home, my doorman was thrilled.

And to top it off, all of that - The Octopus platter, the Leche de Tigre, and a bottle of Club Soda came to a whopping 46 Soles -- that's just $15.30. A bargain!

That kept me until late. Garry and I spent a couple of hours taking money from the good folks at the Casino Majestic, and at around 11:00, we headed to Patagonia for Steaks.

Patagonia is hidden on a side street not far from my place. The Food is really good, but in the ten years that I have been eating there, the service is always really terrible. It's always new waiters and waitresses, so it is the management to blame, not the servers. But I digress, this is about what I ate.

Garry and I ordered the same thing: Steak au Poivre.

It comes with these delicios Potatoes in a Cream Sauce, and the plate is one of my favorites. Despite the late hour, I put away my Steak and Potatoes, and let the Casino pay for our Dinner.

After, Garry and I said our farewells until next time, and I went home to bed.