LIMA DAY 6: Just the Two Meals... Really

Wednesday, March 9

I am getting better with the camera on the new phone. At least I am not losing any pictures.

Alex picked me up for Lunch. The only picking he does is the day; he always lets me select the restaurant. I like Los Calamares, and he will go anywhere that they serve Octopus, so off we went.

I started with their Specialty, Fried Calamari. It's not like the breaded thing that most places have; these are more sauteed than fried. Regardless, they are good.

That was the small order.

Alex, as predicted, had Octopus. Also, as predicted, he still hates taking Blog Photos. He needs to hang out with Ed more often.

I had Hueveras a lo Macho.

Hueveras are Fish Eggs all fried up. They are normally served all on their own, with a little Onion on the side. I saw this combination on their Facebook page a few weeks ago, and I wanted to try it. I wasn't disappointed.

Then I went home and napped. I have had a big few days.

I was meeting Deysi for Dinner. She was one of the girls in the group that went out and brought Christmas Gifts to a bunch of poor Peruvian kids last December, and we made plans to catch a meal. She has never eaten in one of Gaston's Restaurants (they are pretty expensive, as food here goes), and she lives pretty far from Miraflores (my neighborhood). So I took her to Panchits.

We started out by sharing two Appetizers: Anticucho de Corazon, and Pastel de Choclo.

Anticucho de Corazon is Marinated Beef Hearts on A Stick, and the Pastel is ground up Corn over a layer of seasoned Ground Beef. The waiter tried to warn us that the Pastel is huge. I knew that, and we just had a little of the Pastel.

For my Main Course, I had the Tacu Tacu with Lomo Saltado, and Deysi had the Rice with Duck.

Both dishes were excellent. It was my first time with their Lomo Saltado, and the meat was tender, and the Tacu Tacu was very good. It was all I could do not to, er, help Deysi with her dish, but I managed to keep my mouth to myself.

Even though we were full, there's always room for Queso Helado, my favorite Dessert. Deysi claimed to have never tried it before. I don't know -- that's like an American saying that they've never had a Creamsicle or something. Maybe she was being shy; I don't know. I wiould hate to thing of all the years she missed out by NOT having Queso Helado.

Anyway, we ate the Dessert.

The food at Panchita is always really good. And they plate things beautifully there. She sent a phtto to a cousin of hers during the meal. The cousin replied, saying that wasn't really her plate... she stole the photo off of the Internet. That's why there was the 'action shot' of me and the Pastel.

We had a good dinner, and that was it for the day. I'm only going to Panchita once more this trip.