LIMA DAY 3: "Taking it Easy" Is A Relative Term

Wednesday, December 13, 2017

Look... Leftovers! See... I'm NOT out of control! 😂

OK, it was a dish designed for two people. But still... Leftovers!

For Breakfast, I walked down to Cafe Rilke, not far from my apartment. The is a coffee shop/bakery/restaurant in a converted house. It's really comfortable.

I had a Latte and a Plate with two different Hams, A Poached Egg, Cheese and a few pieces of Multi, Multi-Grain Bread.

That kept me full for a while. In the afternoon, since I was planning on a big Dinner, I just had a few Sausage sticks that I had picked up at the supermarket.

They are like Slim Jims, only fancier.

For Dinner, I had a reservation at Astrid & Gaston, which has recently been busted down to only the 33rd Best Restaurant in the World (Fun Fact: I walked past Number 8, Maido, on the way to Breakfast).

I love this place, and they love me. The Food is creative and delicious, they keep the flowers in the food to a minimum, and while I am sitting there, the manager comes by, shakes my hand, asks me how I am, and chats me up for a while, totally impressing the American Businessmen sitting at the next table.

I started with their delicious Bread Assortment. Every piece (and the spreads) come with a long backstory that one day, I should pay attention to.

"Anticuchos," traditionally, are Beef Hearts on a stick, Marinated and then Grilled. The term has since been expanded to include pretty much anything on a stick, either with or without the Anticucho Sauce that goes on the Hearts. For my Appetizer, I had the Anticucho de Lengua, which was Beef Tongue on A Stick.

 

Delicious. If you like Tongue, this is heaven. If not, well, get with the program!

I have been in Lima for three days, and I had not yet had any Duck. I love Duck. Yo Amo Pato. In any language, it's a favorite.

The only problem was that the Rice and Duck here is a plate for two people.

The waitress *tried* to talk me out of it. "Senor," she said, "It says right on the menu that it is for SHARING (Para Compartir). And then there, it says FOR TWO (Para Dos). Look at that table... three guys are sharing it. Don't do it!"

"Ma'am," I said, "I've been coming here for a long time. Duck with Rice, please!"

What could she do? Out comes the Pato Con Arroz.

There's a LOT of Duck there. And Sweet Plantains. And Avocado. I did the best that I could, but since I am Taking it Easy, I only ate about half the dish.

The waitress came by, offered to wrap the plate up for my doorman, and tried hard not to say, "I told you so." She refused to let me order the Chocolate Bomb for Dessert (three people can share that), and just sold me a Cappucino.

When you finish your meal, they bring out a couple of complimentary finger snacks, so I had the two Chocolate Brownies from the box.

 

That was it for the day. I ordered a lot, and only ate some of it. I am regretting giving away the leftovers now, but tomorrow's another day.