LIMA DAY 6: Astrid y Gaston

Lean against a tree and read a book... that's how you kill an hour on Vacation

Wednesday, March 14, 2018

For Breakfast, I wandered down to Estacion 329, the Coffee Shop next door to the *other* apartment I rent. They open early enough to accommodate people who want Coffee before work. They don't have Decaf, but I brought them a bag of Beans and asked them to hold onto it for me -- they are very accommodating.

The bad news... they didn't have Waffles today. I love their Waffles. So I had a Ham and Cheese Sandwich with my Latte for Breakfast.

They swore up and down that they will have Waffles for me tomorrow.

To ease the heartbreak of No Waffles, I stopped in Kennedy Park, found just the right tree and sat down and read for an hour.

It was noon buy the time I headed home, so I stopped at a tiny place on my street for Lunch, Tu Chinindro. They have Lunch Specials. It's not very large - here's the inside, plus three more tables:

 

I had the $4.40 Lunch Special. First a Bowl of Soup and then a Saltado Tu Chinindro.

 

The Soup was pretty nondescript. The other dish is a Pork stir-fry, like a Lomo Saltado, except Pork. They cook Chicken and Pork in this place in a barrel (it's a thing here), and they make Sandwiches and Plates and Stuff.It's pretty good, and certainly worth the $4.

Ed got into town today, and we started his visit with a bang by going to Astrid y Gaston for Dinner. AyG is a favorite of mine, of Ed's... of everyone. It's one of the top restaurants in the world; just ask the internet.

For some reason, my camera does not do well at this restaurant. It never does the food justice.

The bread selection was, as always, delicious. They explain what they are; I just don't listen. Even the Butter has a backstory.

For our Appetizers, we shared two plates. One was Tortellini and the other was Rice with Scallops.

 

The Rice and Scallops were perfect. They do a great job with Scallops in Peru. I didn't pay close attention to what the Tortellini was stuffed with, but whatever it was, it was also pretty great. It's hard to see on the photo, but Gaston has always been a fan of foam in his presentations.

For our Main Course, we ordered the Lomo for two.

This is another one where the photo doesn't get the job done. This was chunks of Filet (maybe, or some really good cut of Beef) with Onions, Tomatoes, and Papas Doradas (wonderfully delicious baked and seasoned Potatoes). The sum of this dish was more than the parts - it was wonderful.

We were both too full for Dessert (no Chocolate Bomb!), but we had Cappucinos and they gave us some finger Desserts (again, didn't photograph well).

That was it. We hit the casino after that, and I finally managed to not lose money.

LIMA DAY 5: Porks and Ducks

Yeah, Starbucks thinks my name is Roberto. Got a problema with that?

Tuesday, March 13, 2017

I went right home and to sleep after Panchita. I hit the bed and didn't get up until the alarm went off.

And I was hungry. Luckily, there was leftover Pastel de Choclo in the refrigerator, and I have a microwave oven.

I needed some good internet, so I went to Starbucks. They have a high-quality signal, and they think my name is Roberto.

My amiga Lucia works for an Insurance company right across the street from the Starbucks, so I invited her out for Lunch. I let her pick, and she decided on Chinese Food at Madam Tusan.

She said that she wanted some Duck (a girl after my own heart!), and let me do the ordering.

For our Appetizers, we had Shrimp Dumplings and Pork Spring Rolls.

 

Some people are just naturals at Blog photos

Those were quickly dispensed with, and out came our Main Courses: Pork and Duck!

 

 

 

"You say you want some of MY Duck? Just you try!"

Neither dish was very original; they stuck with the basics. The Pork was stir-fried with Garlic, Red Peppers and Onions. The Duck was roasted (I suppose), then de-boned and cut up into easy-to-eat chunks. Lucia finally allowed me to have a few pieces of the Duck -- it was delicious. The next time I go somewhere with her, I have to explain the whole 50-50 concept lol.

They have very fancy fortune cookies.

We broke them open, read our fortunes, and I walked Lucia back to her office.

Alex picked me up for Dinner. We had no specific plans, and wound up at Pescados Capitales. They are a Cevicheria, one of the few of them that is open at night. Around here, Seafood is for Lunch, and so it shall be. The place is expensive, and there were enough people at tables (mostly Peruvian) to make staying open worthwhile, I suppose.

I had a bowl of Chilcano and a Seafood Mixed Grill. Alex likes Octopus as much as I do (almost as much as Lucia likes Duck) and he ordered some Grilled Octopus.

 

 

 

Chilcano is a Soup made from strong Fish Stock. This one had some Fish floating around, along with Potatoes and Rice. My Seafood Assortment had Shrimps, Octopus and Calamari, along with Potatoes, Carrots and String Beans. Super good. Alex really liked his Octopus; he just didn't like that there wasn't more of it.

LIMA DAYS 2 & 3: I Forget to Eat, and The Search for A Comfy Chair

Anyone tries to tell you reading isn't good for you, send them to this book store

Saturday, March 10, 2018

I swear - I planned to eat today. Just didn't work out the way I wanted.

I went to 1972 Coffee in the morning. I really like the place, but it's just a little too far from the apartment to pop over on a work day.

It's big, they have decaf, they have comfortable chairs, and they have food. No matter how hard I try, I can't get them to open for me on Sundays.

I had a Latte and a Pastel de Acelga, which is kind of like a Spinach Pie, but Acelga isn't spinach; it's Spinach's cousin.

Then , the day got away from me. I napped, then I went out, fully planning to go somewhere for dinner. Next thing I know it is 1 am, and I am dead tired. I went home and had Todd's leftover Aji de Gallina from the night before.

Sunday, March 11

The problem here is that the people are so civilized. Many of them actually close their stores and take Sunday off. Good for them; sucky for me.

Lonnise and I had found a place in Barranco that opens on Sunday. It had an outdoor area, so I went there first. There's lots of healthy stuff, and some of it is locally-sourced... you know the kind of place. I ordered a Latte and Waffles.

The Waffles were beautiful and tasty. I had to ask for a magnifying glass to find them, though. So there was that, and the fact that they didn't have Decaf, and no real comfy chairs, and throw in that it is 'cool' place to go these days, so it was crowded with bicycle people and families, and it all added up to me eating my Waffles and leaving.

I started walking, and came across a place called Charlotte. I saw a few nice seats, so I went in.

 

They did have Decaf, but they didn't have any mugs that met my size criteria. They did have a breakfast buffet going on, which included Juice, so I went for that.

 

 

 

 

 

It wasn't the fanciest Buffet in the History of Buffets, but it was only $11 including Juice and Coffee. I didn't want to make yesterday's mistake again, so I had a bunch of Chicharron (Fried Pork Pieces), and couple of mini Chicken Salad Sandwiches, Some Lomo Saltado, and a half a Tamale. I ate a read a bit, but it still wasn't perfect, so I paid and left.

Next, I went to where I should have gone in the first place: Sofa Cafe. They have Sofas (and regular seating, but Sofas). And they have big mugs, and they have good food, and they were two doors down from Charlotte.😁

So I had another Latte (Decaf; large mug), and read for another hour. Delightful.

Later, in the apartment, I had some Grapes that I picked up at the Supermarket.

I only had a few; not the whole bag.

For Dinner, I went to El Bodegon. This is rapidly becoming another favorite of mine, and is part of Gaston Acurio's empire, so the food is good.

I started with Soup, then a Rocoto Relleno (Spicy Stuffed Pepper), and ended up with an Aeropuerto.

 

 

Other than I like Soup, I don't know why I ordered a piping hot Bowl of Soup in the Summer. The photo doesn't do it Justice, but the Soup had bits of Beef, Noodles, a Poached (I think) Egg floating around, and just a bite of Hot Pepper. Once it cooled off enough to taste, it was delicious.

This was my first Stuffed Pepper of the trip. Call me a slacker. Anyway, all Rocoto Rellenos are good, so I won't mention it here. This one was stuffed with Meat, a few Raisins, a little bit of Cheese, some sort of Nut (I could feel/taste it when I was chewing), and something else that I don't remember. It's in a bowl with some sliced Potatoes laces with cheese. Despite my efforts to not eat it all, I did exactly that.

The Aeropuerto is basically a Fried Rice dish on Steroids. They go more overboard here than in other places, but worth it. There's Rice loaded with all kinds of stuff (some Vegetables, a tiny bit of Sweet Plantain, Noodles and more), topped with a Breaded and Fried Steak Cutlet and a Fried Egg. I managed to eat half the Steak and a little of the Rice. I took the rest home with me.

That was it for the day. You may have noticed the lack of Duck and very limited Octopus this time. I intend to rectify that situation on Monday.

LIMA DAY 4: Panchita, Again. And Coffee Shops are Nuts

Octopus On A Stick. Next to Ice Cream, the best thing you can put on a stick.

Monday, March 12, 2018

Coffee Shops here are Insane. Another of the few places that both serves Decaf AND has large cups for Coffee decided that they don't need to open until 10 am. So the search was on.

A couple of blocks away, I found a place called Sabor Y Aroma (Flavor and Smell) hidden on a side street. From the outside, it looked like any other hole in the wall, but it was a couple of steps up from what was probably previously there.

I ordered a Breakfast Special: Omelet, Toast, Fresh Juice (blended on the spot) and Coffee.

 

 

The food was well worth the price, The Cantaloupe Juice was wonderful, and the Coffee was full-strength. I was zooming for a couple of hours after.

That kept me going until Dinner time, where I had another reservation at Panchita.

Carlos was again waiting for me, and I don't see how I eat in any restaurant without him serving me. I ordered all of my favorites. First up, Anticuchos de Pulpo (Octopus on a Stick).

 

In some places, Octopus can be a bit rubbery, but not here. Whatever they use for a Marinade not only adds flavor, but does something to tenderize. It's just really, really good.

While I was moaning over the Octopus, the Pastel de Choclo showed up.

It's kind of hard to describe this and make the point that it is tasty, but this is a dish of Ground Corn (and Spices and probably Sugar, and some Love thrown in) on top of a bed of Ground Beef (and Spices, and a few Raisins, and some more Love) that's baked and then they just give it to you, and you only have to give them money. They make it in other places, too, but it is better here. Just ask anyone. Except Bertha's mother. I only had a quarter of it, and saved the rest for another day.

For my Main Course, I had the Arroz con Pato (Rice with Duck).

 

There's two Duck quarters on this plate and extra-delicious Rice (with the crunchy Burnt Rice on the bottom). I marveled over the smell for a few minutes before I dug in, and ate one of the Duck quarters and some of the Rice before giving up.

I passed on Dessert, and Carlos talked me into a Decaf Latte before I left.

He wrapped up all of the leftover food, and -- unlike some people I know -- actually remembered to take it with me.

That's it for the day. I guess I am Officially Old - after Dinner, I went home and went to sleep.