Teresa booked us on a food tour. I was excited and in a nutshell, it didn't disappoint.
The Lima Gourmet Company
We were picked up by Lucas in a Merc, promptly at 9:30am. Service with a smile.. and what a smile he had, too. Warm and contagious as it was, he had us at "ola"!
Like he read our minds, the first stop was for coffee. We drove a short distance to the district of Barranco. Known as the bohemian, hippie area of Lima, it was hopping with trendy restaurants, bakery treasures, hip street art. Barranco, once a dive... unsafe and unsavory, is now exclusive and fun and all about preserving the colorful architecture and history that makes it special. The streets are lively and sprawl from the main square down narrow cobblestone ways, to the Pacific Ocean itself.
We visited Tostaduria Bisetti. Apparently this is one of the top 10 coffee places in the WORLD. What makes it so? Well, indeed the coffee is very good, but I think part of the draw is there is a coffee laboratory onsite. Little Peruvian fingers are sorting individual beans for size and color and only the very best are going into the coffee that is roasted, ground and brewed here. In an ongoing fashion, experimentation is also underway. How can they improve the taste and quality? They are driven to come up with innovative "recipes" for the best cup of Joe and create an unforgettable coffee drinking experience. Teresa and I (and Cuy) enjoyed a cup so smooth and wonderful, we thought we'd died and gone to heaven. It was served with a sweet potato cake with a dusting of cinnamon - warm and delicious.
Also in Barranco is La Bodega Verda. This little cafe is half in a tiny old house, half under the umbrella of the giant tree in their wee courtyard garden. It serves good, healthy food, made from scratch. And milkshakes made from the lucuma fruit on that giant tree!
Lucuma is a starchy yellow fruit that has a slightly mango-y flavor with the consistency similar to avocado. The milkshake is sweet, fruity, creamy and filling! As I tried to get my tongue into the bottom of the to-go cup we left with, Lucas warned us to pace ourselves. The food tour was just getting started!
We drove north of Mira Flores to a market, next. I think we were the only non-locals there. Everyone else was either taking a break from work and eating at the market, or there to purchase food to take home and cook. This market was a hive of activity with different produce (and smells) around every corner. Lucas introduced us to all sort of new fruits, some more potato types (Peru has 4000) and we got up close and personal with meat too. While I agree it's important to know the origin of our food and the connection to the animal it used to be, I might have crossed the the TMI line a little here... especially seeing the forming eggs inside the chicken on a hook and the pig's head!
At the food market, Lucas presented us with a basket of fruit pieces. We tried A LOT of new things... prickly pear, mango, a peachy colored banana, granadilla, avocado, chiramoya, cape gooseberry... Peru is floating on a sea of fresh fruits and vegetables. "Processed" means your friendly butcher or grocer has taken the liberty to dice or dress your produce, to make life easier at home. I could definitely live here!
Speaking for myself, I was already full. But now it was time for a Pisco Sour class and a class on Ceviche making at a cool beachside restaurant.
Goodnight everyone!
The Lima Gourmet Company
We were picked up by Lucas in a Merc, promptly at 9:30am. Service with a smile.. and what a smile he had, too. Warm and contagious as it was, he had us at "ola"!
Like he read our minds, the first stop was for coffee. We drove a short distance to the district of Barranco. Known as the bohemian, hippie area of Lima, it was hopping with trendy restaurants, bakery treasures, hip street art. Barranco, once a dive... unsafe and unsavory, is now exclusive and fun and all about preserving the colorful architecture and history that makes it special. The streets are lively and sprawl from the main square down narrow cobblestone ways, to the Pacific Ocean itself.
This is the "bridge of sighs". Legend has it that if you make a wish, hold your breath and don't let it out until you reach the other side, the wish will come true. The bridge is longer than it looks, but with some speed walking near the end, I made it! (I have a cold so I think my effort should count for double the good luck.)
If you are there with your sweetie, you are supposed to hold hands and walk the bridge, breath held, together... for a lifetime of happy relationship!
We visited Tostaduria Bisetti. Apparently this is one of the top 10 coffee places in the WORLD. What makes it so? Well, indeed the coffee is very good, but I think part of the draw is there is a coffee laboratory onsite. Little Peruvian fingers are sorting individual beans for size and color and only the very best are going into the coffee that is roasted, ground and brewed here. In an ongoing fashion, experimentation is also underway. How can they improve the taste and quality? They are driven to come up with innovative "recipes" for the best cup of Joe and create an unforgettable coffee drinking experience. Teresa and I (and Cuy) enjoyed a cup so smooth and wonderful, we thought we'd died and gone to heaven. It was served with a sweet potato cake with a dusting of cinnamon - warm and delicious.
Also in Barranco is La Bodega Verda. This little cafe is half in a tiny old house, half under the umbrella of the giant tree in their wee courtyard garden. It serves good, healthy food, made from scratch. And milkshakes made from the lucuma fruit on that giant tree!
Lucuma is a starchy yellow fruit that has a slightly mango-y flavor with the consistency similar to avocado. The milkshake is sweet, fruity, creamy and filling! As I tried to get my tongue into the bottom of the to-go cup we left with, Lucas warned us to pace ourselves. The food tour was just getting started!
We drove north of Mira Flores to a market, next. I think we were the only non-locals there. Everyone else was either taking a break from work and eating at the market, or there to purchase food to take home and cook. This market was a hive of activity with different produce (and smells) around every corner. Lucas introduced us to all sort of new fruits, some more potato types (Peru has 4000) and we got up close and personal with meat too. While I agree it's important to know the origin of our food and the connection to the animal it used to be, I might have crossed the the TMI line a little here... especially seeing the forming eggs inside the chicken on a hook and the pig's head!
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| THIS is where tripe comes from! |
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| Rooster fish and some little sharky thing |
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| Granadilla |
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| Cacao - with aspirations to become chocolate in my belly! |
Speaking for myself, I was already full. But now it was time for a Pisco Sour class and a class on Ceviche making at a cool beachside restaurant.
My ceviche was spicy, thanks to the serious crushing I gave my tiny orange chili pepper. This dish was quick to make, healthy and delicious.
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| Dallice, Marco the chef and Teresa |
As for that Pisco Sour:
3 oz Pisco
1 oz key lime juice
1 oz simple syrup
1 egg white
Fill shorter glass with ice to cool it. Tip all ingredients plus ice into taller glass. Shake hard! Strain the ice out as you pour into smaller glass again. You should have ONE finger of foam on the top and no more. More, indicates your Pisco Sour was made in a blender. Add a couple drop of bitters to the center of the foam. (This used to be to disguise the smell of the egg... but these days not necessary.)
As we sucked down our Pisco Sours, Lucas again warned us to pace ourselves. Another Pisco Sour was on order at the next place. Dear God! No wonder we were so giggly and drunk that night at Aguas Calientes. We had consumed 3 of these drinks each, at altitude... and today I find out each one had 3 shots! Kinda amazing we were able to walk about Machu Picchu the next day. And not so surprising I had to straighten a number of my pics with editing software. Hahaha.
Anywho... a tipsy me, followed Teresa to the car and we set off for our next gastronomical delight. A selection of large and small plates at Huaca Pucllana. A swanky, modern, classy and likely expensive restaurant, perched on the grounds of the ruins by the same name. I imagine it's hard to get a reservation here... unless you are with Lucas.
Here we also gobbled down a "flight" of desserts - and a Pisco Sour made with passion fruit.
Stick a fork in me. I'm done!
All we had left in us was a walk to Larcomar Mall later that night, for dinner overlooking the ocean and a stroll around this layered building, protruding from the cliff!
Goodnight everyone!
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