Travel – Page 112

It’s that time again……

March 22, 2008 mmm-yoso Travel

The Missus and I are headed out…….and mmm-yoso!!! is once again in the most capable hands of Cathy! I need to thank Cathy, for taking the time out, and taking care of our little blog….she’s quite busy, and is still finding time for us.

So, where are we headed?

Well, Miss Oishii Eats has been there. Wandering Chopsticks as well. So has the Gastronomer. And of course, there are those bloggers who live and blog from there as well.

I’ll be checking in when I’m able to!

See you all in a few weeks…we’ll miss ya’!

Peru: Pescados Capitales – Miraflores(Lima)

November 18, 2007 mmm-yoso Lima, Peru, Seafood, Travel

Knowing how much the Missus loves Cebiche, it would have been a crime to leave Lima without another meal at a Cebicheria, restaurants specializing in seafood, especially, well what else, Cebiche! In doing research for out meal, I came across several great sources, one was of course, Peru Food, another being the restaurant reviews in klephblog, and finally, this excellent article written by Jonathan Yardley for the Washington Post. In the end, it came down to meals at either Gaston Acurio's Cebicheria, La Mar, or the highly regarded Pescados Capitales. Interestingly enough, the two restaurants are located blocks from each other, in what is slowly becoming the "Cebicheria district", Avenida La Mar. Another well regarded Cebicheria, La Red, is also located on the same street. Since we had already eaten at Astrid & Gaston the evening before, and since Pescados Capitales takes reservations, we decided on Pescados Capitales. It was a bit tough getting reservations, we could never find anyone who spoke English. Luckily, the very nice Concierge at the Marriott, made reservations for us. She did wonder how I knew about Pescados Capitales since it's according to her a "mostly a local place". Later on, when she saw me, she followed up, curious as to how we enjoyed our meal. So, after a busy morning, we flagged down a cab on Larcomar got a price (6 Soles), and headed off. The young man, who looked part Chinese, was amiable, and he humored the Missus who used her survival Spanish on him. When she mentioned taxi drivers in Lima, he made a clucking sound, and told the Missus, "taxi all loco, allll loco, in Lima!" Of course he was in the process of cutting several cars off, and making a left turn from the center lane without using the turn signal at the time…….

Avenida La Mar, is an interesting street, a mixture of auto repair shops, small industrial businesses, residential, and as mentioned before, several upscale Cebicherias. Cebicherias are strictly lunchtime eateries, so location is not such a big issue. Oh, one more thing, in Lima, lunch can mean any time between noon and 6pm! I had heard that Peruvians like to eat late, and we did notice how Astrid & Gaston got busier as the night wore on. In keeping with that, when we arrived for our 1230 reservation, the restaurant was almost totally empty:

The Missus looked at me and went, "humph, you needed reservations for this?" But by 1 pm, it looked like this:

Before we left….packed to the rafters!

Just after sitting we were brought an Amuse of uber-fresh Scallops with Bloody Mary mix:

So simple, yet so very good. The sweet, tender orbs, was like a spicy-tomatoey kiss of the ocean. When the Missus mentioned how good this was, the Server, brought Her two more!

I had read that the name of the restaurant was a play on words, "pescado" in Spanish means fish, you'd think the word "pescados" would probably be the plural of the former word. But it is not, "pescados" is translated as "sin". So using this play on words, many of the dishes at Pescados Capitales are named for the Seven Deadly Sins or the Seven Virtues. A double order of Paciencia (patience) anyone? On some days I could perhaps use a triple order…….. In addition, the Owners of Pescados Capitales are of Peruvian-Chinese descent, and there are several dishes on the menu that reflect this.

The Aji was brought to the table, and was really good, and a bit different from other versions. It had a distinct smokey flavor to it, almost as if some chipotle was in the mixture. The cancha(fried corn kernals) were nice and salty, though very dry. It was best eaten mixed with the Leche de Tigre(Tigers Milk), the cebiche marinade.

Oh, and how good that Leche de Tigre was! We started with the classic Cebiche de Leguado (sole cebiche s/30 – approx $10).

Though the fish was good, not excellent, the Leche de Tigre was the best we've ever had, just the right amounts of sour-salty that is as bracing as the spray created by waves crashing on a rocky shoreline. Mildly pungent and sweet onions, and very spicy red peppers added heat, and the camote, with the slight hint of cinnamon in the background made this a very pleasing dish. To this day, when we think of Cebiche, this is the version that comes to mind.

We also ordered the Caridad ("Charity" s/ 30, approx $10 US), and interesting Eurasian mix of flavors.

Pacific Rockfish had been lightly studded with sesame seeds, lightly dusted with togarashi, and lightly seared, giving it good texture. The reduction which I read contained mirin, dashi, lime, among several other items was much better than I thought it would be. The combination of sweet-salty-sour was quite good. It was accompanied by a nice green salad, with a mild vinaigrette. The only item we didn't care for was the parmesian cheese, the sour cheese along with very rare fish was not a combination we enjoyed.

I also wanted to try a tiradito, so I selected the Tiradito Capital(s/ 31 – approx $10.50 US):

This was one beautiful dish, and the tuna was really nice and fresh. The rest of it was a mish-mash of confusing flavors…a very strong oyster sauce reduction, that tasted like it had dijon mustard in it on top, Leche de Tigre on the bottom…too many clashing flavors, you really couldn't taste anything. Maybe this was a little bit too over the top for us. I was wishing I could just have that maguro…….. Still you can't blame them for trying.

The menu at Pescados Capitales is fairly large and diverse. Don't let our meal fool you, there are many cooked seafood dishes like "Lust" stuffed squid, grilled over coals, a very popular risotto we saw many people ordering, and a huge plate of Pulpo! I'm sure next time we're in Miraflores we'll be checking out Punta Azul, a Cebicheria we passed several times on a side street, and La Mar…..but I'd come back to Pescados Capitales in a minute!

Pescados Capitales
Avenida La Mar 1337
Miraflores, Lima, Peru

Peru: Astrid & Gaston – Miraflores(Lima)

November 13, 2007 mmm-yoso Fine Dining, Lima, Memorable Meals, Peru, Travel

Would you believe me if I said that this charming little house on side street right off of Avenida Larco is the home of one of the top 100 restaurants in the world?

According to Pellegrino, Astrid & Gaston is one of the Top 100 restaurants in the world in 2007, right up there with Robuchon at the Four Seasons, Guy Savoy, Peter Lugar, Zuni Cafe, and many others. I usually don't do posts on fine dining establishments, but I'm sure you'll humor me in this case. A&G was the one "must-eat" restaurant on my list for our vacation. In fact, I had the Missus call the restaurant from Cusco, and we had no problems getting reservations on a Friday evening. When I first started making plans for our vacation, I had been a bit hesitant about eating at Astrid & Gaston. We'd be traveling light, and I had second thoughts about proper attire. But that was soon remedied after a quick email to Alejandro who does the excellent Peru Food blog. In response to my question about attire, Alejandro wrote; "you'll get cut a lot of slack as tourists". Which we found to be true when we arrived at the restaurant. We were seated in the "Wine Cellar" section, a very warm, quiet, and comfortable area of the restaurant. We could pick out the tourists right away, the sweaters and jeans were the tourists, the sports coats were the locals. I had packed a nice dress shirt, slacks, and dress shoes, and they had traveled unused through our trip until this evening.

Our Server, a very kind and friendly young man brought us our menus….

Written in Spanish! This one was going to be much harder than ordering from a chalk board in a Picanteria! So we ordered some drinks, the Missus had some Chicha, and I ordered a Coca Sour, which was pretty strong:

And tried to go through the menu and figure out what was what.

The wonderful bread basket came out, with the uber-addictive bread sticks studded with Quinoa, when dipped in the wonderful spicy-tart Aji, was fantastic.

Our Server brought the Maitre d' over, who was not only very helpful, but had a great sense of humor as well! There were a few dishes that I was looking for, and he provided some assistance in finding them.

Of course the Missus had to start with some Cebiche, and I managed to find the Dos Cebiche Puritanos, basically the two traditional styles of cebiche, the mixto(mixed seafood cebiche), and the cebiche pescado (white fish).

The cebiche mixto was just plain fantastic. A variety of top notch seafood bathed in a creamy-mild marinade. I was amazed at how tender the calamari was…..literally melt in your mouth.

The quality of the fish in the Cebiche Classico, in this case Corvina (White Sea Bass) was a revelation. It was melt in your mouth tender….it would have not been out of place on nigiri sushi.

If I were to have any complaint at all, it would be that the Leche de Tigre(Tiger's milk – Cebiche marinade) was very, very mild. The strong sour-salty flavors were muted, but oh that fish was so good!

I had been looking for the causitas, which are minature versions of Causa, a classic dish which consist of cold mashed potatoes topped or filled with various ingredients. After looking over the menu, I found it called "La 5 Razas". These beautiful little mashed potato "cakes" were topped with various items. From what I found to be rather mundane(for me) items, such as the mayo-crab mixture which tasted like California roll filling.

To the very interesting….

This interesting causita was topped with preserved fish that tasted like less oily, top notch anchovy. In fact I thought it was anchovy, but was told it was "Atun", or preserved tuna. Salty and rich, this went well with the potato cake.

My favorite by far was the Conchas a la Huacaina (scallop in yellow cheese sauce).

Sweet scallops, in a slightly salty-rich cheese sauce. Really good stuff.

For Her main course the Missus ordered the Cuy in Orange Sauce:

The Missus adored Her Cuy(Guinea Pig), and it was fitting substitute for duck which is usually prepared in this manner. I had a taste of the Cuy, and it really did have a nice pork-dark meat chicken flavor. As for the potatoes and the relleno, I never had a shot, but the Missus said they were excellent. She still mentions this dish in conversations all the time.

I ordered one of Astrid & Gaston's signature dishes, the 3 Week Old Suckling Pig Confit, on the menu it's called "El Cochinillo de tres semanas del invierno 2007":

When it first arrived it was fantastic. The thin crisp laquered skin of the pork leg was amazing, and the meat was melt in your mouth tender and rich. It was a bit mildly flavored, I had expected more of the rich essense of pork. The cocoa reduction added a nice flavor as well. After a few minutes, the pork really got dried out and was not as palatable. The real treasure of this dish was the minced blood sausage, served on a stewed Quince.

After consuming our entrees, we were stuffed, and couldn't even manage to find room for one of Astrid's desserts. The Maitre d' dropped by, and asked if we had room for dessert. The Missus replied, "oh no, we are too full", raising Her glass She told Him, "I'm just going to finish this so I can kill the Cuy." To which he cracked up and said, "yes, yes, you must kill the Cuy…."

So how much did you think this cost? Well, including 10% automatic service charge, the dinner came out to s/250….or about $80 US! Yes, eighty bucks for dinner for two at a world class restaurant. We found the service to be warm, helpful, and friendly. We will be back, there's so much more to explore on the menu, wonderful sounding Tiraditos, Lechon, Foie Gras Tamale anyone? I'm sometimes a bit skeptical when restaurants fuse and modernize traditional dishes, but Gaston Acurio has done a masterful job. He is true to the dishes, uses excellent ingredients, and most of all everything is prepared well.

Astrid y Gaston
Calle Cantuarias 175
Miraflores

Monday to Saturday
Lunch: 12:30 – 15:30
Dinner: 19:30 – 24:00

I've heard that Gaston Acurio may open a branch of his very popular Cebicheria, La Mar in San Diego. If that happens I'm sure to be one of the first in line……

One more thing, just by coincidence, this happens to be our 700th published post. So maybe it's a bit fitting to do something a bit different for a change.

Peru: Alfresco – Miraflores(Lima)

November 7, 2007 mmm-yoso Lima, Peru, Travel

We returned to Lima from Cusco, and were met by our driver. As we drove to our hotel, we noticed riot police, armored vehicles, helicopters flying above, and soldiers on the roofs of several buildings. When our driver noticed we were staring out the window, he told us: "today Fujimori is coming back to Peru." Yes, not only did we return to Lima, this was also the day that Ex-President Alberto Fujimori was being extradited to Peru. The whole city was buzzing……

The rest of the drive to Miraflores was uneventful, and our driver was a pretty quiet fellow, until we started talking about Cebiche and Tiradito. He ended up making a few recommendations fairly close to the hotel. One of these was Alfresco, a nice restaurant on a side street of a mostly residential area in Miraflores.

The interior of the restaurant was bright, casual, and understated.

In search of just a light lunch, the Missus ordered the Ceviche Alfresco (Alfresco style ceviche – s/28.50 – approx $9.50US). In this case the marinade for the ceviche was of the "creamy" variety, and served with standard sweet potato and corn.

As mentioned before, the Missus has never met a camote(sweet potato) She didn't like. The quality of the fish was excellent, tender and just slightly chewy. The leche de tigre(ceviche marinade) in this case was pretty mild, much too mild for the Missus. She told me it lacked the zip that She enjoys so much.

I ordered the Tiradito Alfresco(s/24.50 – approx $8US). This was a very unique version of Tiradito. The flavors were distinct, yet very delicate at the same time. You could make out the taste of garlic, but the sour tones were not lime, and there was a bit of "fruitiness" to the flavor and fragrance.

The Sole (Lenguado) was very fresh, and the texture was classic Shiromi(Japanese for White fish) firm, light, with a mild, yet tender, chewiness. That marinade had me hooked. We finally inquired about the Tiradito, and our Server, who spoke perfect English, told us the marinade consisted of Garlic, Lemon Juice in place of Lime Juice, and good Extra Virgin Olive Oil. This European treatment of Tiradito suited me well, I truly enjoyed it.

It seemed that so far on this trip, the Tiraditos had the upper hand on the Cebiches. We discussed that as we walked back to our hotel. We had taken a taxi ride from our hotel to Alfresco, but found that Alfresco was close enough to walk, which we enjoyed.

Alfresco
Malecon Balta 790
Miraflores

Miraflores:

In stark contrast to our earlier stay in intense Central Lima, Miraflores was much more laid back and upscale. You still felt like you were playing out a real life version of Frogger, taking your life into your hands when crossing the street, but you could drop Miraflores right into any large coastal city in the US and not miss a beat. We stayed at the very sleek and modern JW Marriott.

The Marriott in Miraflores rises like a monolith over the Pacific Ocean. The hotel itself is built on those cliffs, and every room is supposed to have an ocean view. When I originally booked our rooms, I had thought that a few nights at the hotel would be a nice segue before returning home. The hotel is very modern, with excellent facilities, and like most 4-5 star hotels, the service was superb. There is also a small and modern shopping mall, Larcomar (more on Larcomar in a future post) right across the street, and most of the cafe culture of Miraflores is just a 10-15 minute walk away. The hotel is rather staid and cold looking, and the charm and warmth of a smaller boutique hotel was missing, but we had no complaints.

The view from our room of the Pacific Ocean, and part of Larcomar, which is built into the cliffs overlooking the ocean. I was told that the best time for the beach here is from December through March, when it is more humid and sunny. During other months, the shoreline is usually shrouded in fog and mist.

Taxis are located right across the street, though they are everywhere. For our initial ride to Alfresco, we approached the line-up of taxis, and a woman aggressively walked up to us. We mentioned Alfresco, and she told us "15 soles, it is far….". Fortunately, the Missus had asked our driver about the going prices of taxi fares to get around Miraflores, and we were told, "No more than 3-5 soles", so we tried to bargain. But this woman insisted on 15 soles. As I stood back, I made eye contact with a kindly looking driver, and he walked up and said, "Si, Alfresco 5 soles…." Sold! The woman, had a few choice words for the gentleman, who just shrugged his shoulders……. We found that various taxi rides in Lima can be a bit of an adventure in themselves, more on that later.

I created a category for our Peru posts, they can be found here.

Peru: Mercado de Wanchaq

October 21, 2007 mmm-yoso Cusco and the Sacred Valley, Peru, Travel

The morning after our wonderful dinner, we were scheduled to leave Cusco for Lima. Our flight was at noon on a Star Peru "Boing" 737. Since we still had time before Oscar was scheduled to pick us up, we decided to walk on over to the Mercado de Wanchaq. During the previous afternoon we were searching for flowers to bring to dinner. The really helpful Bellhop recommended a stop at the local Mercado right down the street.(Thanks Erick!) We rushed in, and managed to get a decent bouquet….we really didn't notice until we were walking out of market, how much we stood out! Even though we saw a few other tourists at Mercado Central, this vibrant and busy Mercado seemed totally local.

Though smaller than Mercado Central, this market had a real community feel to it. We had arrived just as business was starting to pick up, by the time we left, the isles were buzzing…..

Along with the vast amount of produce, there were 2 barber shops, a few lower stands, a section for fresh seafood:

Meat and Poultry

I found this stand with prepared sauces and marinades to be interesting….

The hardware section! I was surprised at the comprehensive selection. Everything from chain link and rope, to drills, to toilet plungers at this little stand. Home Depot ain't got nothin' on this place.

And of course the food stalls.

As with Mercado Central, the food stands were organized in sections, the saltados(stir fries) in one section, sopas(soups) in another. The fragrances were quite tempting.

But the Missus was after something a bit different. Unfortunately, Her craving for Choclo(Corn on the cob) was left unfulfilled as all the vendors were just getting the water started, and the corn wouldn't be ready for a few hours.

Well, at least we have a reason to return to Cusco! The Missus than turned Her attention to these:

These are called Pepino (cucumber melon), and large stacks of them were featured at every produce stand in the market. The vendor helped the Missus pick one out, and we walked it back to the hotel. This was breakfast for the Missus.

So while everyone was having croissants and muffins, the Missus had Her Pepino. I thought the flavor to be much like honeydew melon, maybe a bit milder. The texture was like very ripe cantaloupe, not too crisp, but with a little "give". I also thought the melon had a weird aftertaste that I really didn't enjoy, but the Missus loved it.

After breakfast we finished packing and checked out at the hotel. Soon enough Oscar picked us up and drove us to the airport. Oscar even brought his wife along to meet us! It was a wonderful little drive to the airport, full of anecdotes and laughter. We realized something, Cusco had grown on us, and the proud, generous, and warm hearted people had as well. Usually, when on vacation, after the third day or so, the Missus and I are ready to leave and move on, but for the very first time, we wanted more time in a city. We told Oscar that we'd probably be returning in 2009….I had an added incentive as well. Oscar promised me a list of the best local restaurants, and what they specialize in, on my next visit, so you know I have to come back!

El Puma Hotel:

We spent our last night in Cusco at the El Puma Hotel. This was a pretty modern, and new hotel, and was a big change from the quaint Hotel Rumi Punku. El Puma was also located in a busy area, just one block from Avenida del Sol, Cusco's main drag.

The rooms looked modern, though with the same type of "central heating". A couple of funny things associated with El Puma occurred as well. As you can see, the entrance of El Puma has very modern looking "sliding doors"…..well, I guess in my Americanized mind, sliding doors are "automatic doors", that slide open when you approach. These are literally sliding doors, that you slide open…..which I walked into as I tried to enter hotel!

I also mentioned that the El Puma was fairly new….in fact we found that most taxi drivers had no idea where El Puma was! Luckily, the Missus had the foresight to grab one of the hotel pens(see, I told you it was modern!) with the address on it – Garcilaso 320. We soon found out that there are two streets named Garcilaso in Cusco. In fact, our driver on the return trip from Mercado Central, insisted that we had arrived at our destination, Garcilaso 320…….only thing was, this Garcilaso 320 was a Auto Parts store! Even though the pen we showed him said EL PUMA HOTEL, I guess we must have looked like we were staying at an auto parts store…….

Peru: A Very Special Dinner

October 17, 2007 mmm-yoso Memorable Meals, Peru, Travel

One of the main reasons we arranged for an extra day in Cusco, was to attend a very special dinner. Just before we left for Peru, we had gotten an invitation to have dinner at the home of the parents of an acquaintance of ours. We felt really honored to be invited, and it was obvious to us that this was an invitation that could not, and would not be turned down, under any circumstances. And so, we found ourselves in a taxi winding its way through cobblestone side streets on the outskirts of Cusco. Until we came to a very narrow street. It was obvious that driving on this little strip of cobblestone was not an easy thing. When we arrived, a car was stalled at the entrance of the street, our taxi driver got out and helped to push the car out of the way. (When we left, another car was stalled at the entrance of the street. The driver had to parked and walk down the street to get us.) We drove up the street, around a tight corner, back around and up the street again, but we could not find the address. The young man stopped at the corner, told us to wait for a minute in pseudo sign language, got out of the car. Were we abandoned here on the outskirts of Cusco? Of course not, our driver had gone to find a pay phone and called the phone number on our little scrap of paper with the address. We were going to be met…..unfortunately, the driver put his taxi in reverse, and the car was stuck!! Luckily, he managed to correct the problem. At this point, we thought this poor dedicated cabbie had gone through enough….for s/3 ($1 US). We told him we’d walk, gave him s/10 for his troubles. Just then we were met, and walked over to a doorway……Through that doorway and down a flight of stairs, lay a courtyard, a lovely gazebo, wonderful foliage, with several buildings making up the compound. We were guided to a seating room, and made at home by Victor(our friend’s kind, gentle Step-Dad), and soon enough met Tatiana(his friendly, warm cousin), and eventually Rosa(his Mom….who made dinner, and BTW is 86!). We enjoyed sitting and chatting, Tatiana spoke excellent English which made everything much easier for us. Our conversation drifted from Cusco, to food, to a few quips the Missus had….most of which had me, and the word "gordo" as the subject…..

Soon dinner was served:

Yes, it was Cuy(Guinea Pig), amazingly good Cuy! It seems that many people believe that Cuy is some kind of ubiquitous rite-of-passage, I dare you, "Andrew Zimmern-nized", badge of courage. Before we left for Peru, and Cusco, we did a bit of research, and found that Cuy is traditionally served on special occasions and played a large part in Andean religious practices. We were truly honored to be guests for this wonderful meal.

Even though Cuy has quite a history, and a serious role in Andean culture, history, and cuisine, there is still much good humor in "Cuy conversations" . We notice that many people do what we call "the Cuy". Never seen it? Well, "the Cuy" is done by putting your arms to your sides, and bringing your hands up, sort of similar to the Kung Fu Crane Form. At the same time create an overbite using your central incisors, and make a "pffff" sound. Even our waiter at Astrid y Gaston did "the Cuy"! Notice below……

Like I said, this was an amazingly good dish. The Cuy had been roasted in a traditional wood fired oven. A basting with olive oil, salt, huacatay, and other seasonings, had been key in creating a wonderful dish. The skin was like the best lacquered pork "skin/chicharron". Cuy is all dark meat, moist, and full of flavor. The texture of the meat is almost like duck, but much milder in flavor, with just a very mild gaminess. Does it taste like chicken? Well, perhaps really moist, free range, all dark meat chicken, maybe….. My favorite parts were the legs…crunchy, salty, great for gnawing, bones and all, and the meat along the back of the spine, and near the ribs…tender with a flavor akin to dark meat pork, with a touch of sweetness. Tatiana told us that Cuy is high in protein, low in fat and cholesterol. I was sucking bones clean at the end…….

Along with fire roasted potatoes, some really flavorful aji salsa, and the company, this was an unforgettable meal. Discussions ran the gamut, from Coca, to Japan, to San Diego, and beyond…. Some other things we learned:

– The reason the Cuy we had before tasted fishy, was that they were fed a diet of meal that included fish meal and other ingredients to make them grow large quickly. The traditional food for Cuy is Alfalfa. Now we know what all the alfalfa those women were carrying was for!

– As a whole, the locals don’t eat Alpaca(other than anticuchos), it is tourist food. It is also very expensive.

– It is customary to have a beverage, either beer or wine, after eating Cuy. We were told this was to "kill the Cuy" for good.

After dinner we had a short tour of the grounds, and though it was quite dark, we managed to meet…

The Cuy, which are housed in the same area as the oven to keep them warm. When the door opened, they scattered everywhere…..they are really fast little critters.

They are kinda cute….the Missus said that She "was glad that I saw them after dinner….."

I should’ve taken notes…..the Missus had a free tour of the garden, and all the different herbs were described. Here’s a really bad picture of the Gallina(Hens), Victor told me they were really good egg layers….

By this time it was getting late, and our cab to the hotel arrived. We said our goodbyes. The ride back was fairly quiet, the Missus and I were still taking in, and thinking about, what a very special meal we had. What can I say…….to be guests of a warm and generous family who opened up their home to us, to have shared conversation, laughter, and food, it is a wonderful thing that I can’t describe in words. It was one of the moments that made this trip so memorable.

Peru Day 5: Next on the Agenda – La Chomba

October 10, 2007 mmm-yoso Cusco and the Sacred Valley, Peru, Travel

After leaving the Mercado Central, and an interesting cab ride back to the hotel, we arrived to find our room ready. We freshened up a bit, I went to pick up some bottled water (sin gas), and we took a walk down Avenida del Sol, Cusco's busy main drag. Most of the government buildings, banks, and other businesses are located on this street. Even though there weren't many eateries on del Sol, there were a few fruit vendors:

We also dropped by a "Lavanderia"(laundry service). We had only taken carry on luggage to Peru, and though we needed to bring clothes for 2 dinners, we managed by using a couple of compression bags, and one visit to a good lavanderia. The Lavanderia's charge by the kilo, and if I recall our bill came out to s/12 ($4 US)….to us, a great deal.

We managed a visit to Museo Inka (admission $3 US). Oscar told us that this was the best museum in Cusco when it came to Inca history. Though there is a lack of English signs, we could figure out what most of the displays were about. Of course I enjoyed the ancient and traditional foods display, with items such a Tarwi, and there is a fascinating collection of skulls that display the use of trepanning(the oldest surgery known to man). I'm sorry to say that photos aren't allowed in the museum, but I found some photos here. The Missus also added to Her Alpaca scarf selection, by purchasing a scarf from one of the artisans in the courtyard. We were told that half the proceeds goes to the museum, and half to the artisan, which was good enough for us.

La Chomba:

After the museum we were getting hungry, so we headed off to a Picanteria recommended by the Server at Pachapapa. The name of the place is La Chomba, and is located on a street called Tullumayo. We had asked Oscar about La Chomba, and he told us the food there is good, and was quite impressed that we wanted to eat there. He drove by on the way to the hotel, and showed us where La Chomba was located. We were surprised at how close La Chomba was…..the street we had been staying on, Choquechaca, becomes Tullumayo at Cuesta San Blas, so it was basically 5 blocks away from us!

La Chomba is not much to look at from the street, all you see is a door front.

Walk through the doors, and you enter a dusty courtyard. There are children and dogs running around, laundry is hanging to dry, you realize that there are people living here!

In the back corner of the courtyard is a doorway that says "La Chomba Ajha Whasi", and there was a group of musicians hanging out outside. We walked down the hallway…….and into a pretty busy bar/restaurant!

The place was rocking, and the kitchen was running full blast, we saw plates of fried and roasted meats flying past us! The wonderful frangrances floated in there, they smelled so amazing that I wished I could take a bite. Every few minutes a dog would run into the place and make "rounds"…. Da' Boyz should be so lucky!

A bowl of Aji Salsa was placed on the table, along with a pad and pencil…..

The Missus gave me a look that said, "ok, now what?" But it was just a matter of what the Missus wanted to eat…I just went down the menu, and could pretty much tell Her what everything was. And yes, those prices are in soles. What made things complicated was that the Missus wanted everything that came out of the kitchen…"wow, that looks good, I want that….no…wait, that is what I want, no, no….pardon Senor, como se llama esto?"(To the Guy running the food to the tables) By then I had written down our order……and the band had started playing.

The Frutillada, the strawberry flavored Chicha de Jora served in pitchers filled from a huge plastic trash cans were flowing! The Missus didn't care for the taste of the fruit flavored Chicha, so we stuck with our standard…Inca Cola. And soon our food arrived!

I ordered the Chicharron:

Oscar had recommended the Lechon (Suckling pig), but it wasn't on the menu….I shoulda asked, because later on I saw it coming out of the kitchen! But this was just fine by me…seasoned and deep fried pork, you gotta love it. We had noticed that much of the meat in Peru is quite lean…except for the pork, goat, and lamb! There were four large chunks of pork, coming from different parts of the pig…..the best was the pieces of rib which were, slightly sweet, salty, and very rich! Along with some marinated onions, mint, and Aji, this was pretty good! It came with the standard corn, a favorite of the Missus, and Papas Amarilla…the flavorful yellow potatoes.

But as good as the Chicharron was, it couldn't hold a candle to the Cabrito al Horno(roasted kid), that I ordered for the Missus, a certified Goat/Lamb/Mutton lover:

That photo doesn't do the cabrito justice….oh man, was this good! The meat was tender, and the rib pieces were tender enough to pull off the bone….but not mushy. The meat was seasoned with a simple, but flavorful rub, just enough to let the wonderful wildness of the cabrito come through! I had a taste, and the Missus asked me what I thought….."I loooove Cusco!"

Now this may be pub-grub…but I'll take this over almost anything! So what about the price? All together, including a "grande" Inca Cola, this was s/22….22 soles, a tad over 7 bucks! Funny thing, normally I could finish everything myself……but here we had leftovers, better for El Mayor I guess. So let's review the magic words….they are Cebicheria, Chicheria, Chicharroneria, and Picanteria. That's all you have to know.

I was curious about what a Picanteria was…..and most references said something like, "a Peruvian eatery serving traditional foods." I'll take that anytime!

La Chomba
339 Tullumayo
Cusco

A funny thing happened while we were eating. The two nice women in front of us, were a bit curious about who we were. They asked the Missus a few questions…and the Missus answered. After answering She told them "no habla Español". They cracked up, and one lady said to the other something along the lines of "she's telling me she doesn't speak Spanish, but she's talking to me in Spanish!"

You won't believe this, but it got even better from here, so stay tuned!

Tomorrow we'll be welcoming back a very good FOY(Friend of Yoso), so that I can attend the San Diego Asian Film Festival.

Peru Day 5: First on the Agenda, Mercado Central – Cusco

October 9, 2007 mmm-yoso Cusco and the Sacred Valley, Peru, Travel

On the day following our Machu Picchu tour, Oscar transferred us to the Hotel we'd be staying at for our last night in Cusco, The El Puma Hotel. The El Puma looked very modern, and we were told that the El Puma was a relatively new Hotel(this little tidbit was apparent later on). We had a cup of Mate de Coca(Coca Tea), checked our luggage, and started on our way. We were glad that we had an extra day in Cusco, now we could explore and "hit" some of the destinations I had on my list. First on the agenda, Mercado Centro, near the San Pedro Train Station. I hailed a cab, and the Missus did the bargaining…..what we found was, even though several people told us that the standard cab fare was s/2, the going "tourist rate" was s/3, which wasn't much of an issue with us. 3 soles is about $1 US.

The Mercado Central is a large sprawling warehouse like building…

As you wander through the bustling aisles, you can get overwhelmed by the varieties of produce, meats, seafood, and even potatoes!

I've heard the "over three thousand varieties of potatoes" in Peru phrase several times, and after a visit to the Mercado Central, I believe it! One of the more interesting potato products is called ChuÃ±o, which are potatoes that are preserved through a natural freeze drying process. ChuÃ±o can be softened and rehydrated or ground into a flour for use.

The Missus really enjoyed the variety of fruits.

In order to respect people's space, I only took close-ups under one circumstance….if we purchased something from a vendor, I asked permission, and was given the go ahead every time. Well there was one exception, which I'll go into later.

The Missus was especially taken by the Granadilla, a variety of passion fruit.

In what has to go down as one of the oddest cases of bargaining, after some discussion, the Missus's final offer was 3 for 2 soles, at which time the vendor said, she wanted 2 for 1 soles? Sold! I think the vendor got a bit confused.

The Missus adored the Granadilla…

The interior is full of edible seeds, with sweet, gooey flesh. The Missus bought several more before we left.

Here's the "bread aisle":

Full of fresh baked pan.

The more I looked around me, the more I felt like I'd been "beamed down" into the most amazing supermarket in world…….

About that time, the Missus woke me from my euphoric state with a "oh my god…" What got Her attention this time?

Yep, quail eggs…but just in case you didn't know what it was, there were two of the little critters in a cage on the bottom of the cart. Of course, I don't think they laid those eggs hard-boiled, which is what was being sold. The Missus bought 5(s/1), and proceeded to munch on them. She even offered one of the ladies selling produce a couple…and the lady took Her up on the offer! This got me a few nice produce photos. And yes, the "el papel higiÃ©nico" is there for your hands and face. I had always wondered why those toilet paper boxes said "facial quality tissue"…now I knew!

And no market worth its salt would not have an outstanding "meat department"!

There was every possible part and cut of meat, tongue, ears, stomach, heart (anticuchos!!!), you name it.

The most beautiful of them all was this cordero(lamb). Man did it look good! In fact when we were leaving, there was only 1 leg left. Everything else, head, gonads, were gone…..

About this time, hunger pangs set in, so we started looking around for something to eat…which isn't very hard in Mercado Central. Large sections are divided up by type of food or drink served. One section is for the fruit juice vendors:

One section just did breads and sandwiches (pan francais with blood sausage looked mighty fine). Another did cebiches, and a large section specialized in Saltados (stir fries). Check out the price of a Saltado and Soup at this stand:

Yep, 2 soles! The pans of papas fritas, onions, and the like was really hard to turn down. And of course the "cleaning crew" looked like they ate well too! The dogs in the market were obviously well fed:

I wanted something a bit more comforting. So we headed to the Sopas (soups), as I turned the corner I was caught in the net cast by the Sopa de Pollo…chicken soup, and there was no escape. And even though there were at least 20 vendors, each of them showing their "wares"…the mark of a Sopa de Pollo stand, the pan of simmered pollo and aromatics:

There was only one stand, the one in the corner, that was doing "blue light special in the Sopa de Pollo department" business. The crowd was seated three deep.

As we tentatively walked around the stand, the woman behind the stand put up 3 fingers…."3 soles a bowl"($1 US). In a display typical of what we encountered in Cusco, three people in the front row stood up, moved, and waved us to the front bench. And so we had a terrific bowl of Chicken soup, in a large sprawling marketplace, in a land far away, in a city 11,000 feet above sea level…

In the soup's warm embrace, touched by the kindness and generosity of these folks, many of whom don't have much in the way of material things, all I could mumble was "life is good". To which the Missus said, "you're dripping soup all over the place" and proceeded to hand me some facial/toilet tissue to wipe my face. To which She added, "hey, did you notice that they didn't take any chances with you, and gave you the pieces of white meat?" So I looked down at the German Shephard mix sitting right under the bench, sopping up my mess, and whispered; "life is good, ain't it?"

Postscript:

Later on the trip, we were relaxing in our room in Lima, and on one of the channels they were having a No Reservations marathon. And one of the shows was the Peru episode, which we hadn't seen before. It was eerie watching Bourdain walking through the Mercado Central…where we had just been a day or two before! It was even more eerie when they showed the episode with Food Blogger Extraordinaire Eat, Drink, & Be Merry, which turned to laughter because it was dubbed. I later told EDBM about the dubbed episode in a comment, to which he replied:

"Please tell me that the voice was deep, not a pip-squeak or tranny."

Don't worry…..though it was sorta your Sancho Panza to Bourdain's Don Quixote…..

Peru: Qori Chaska, Cusco Miscellanea, and Reading the Fine Print!

October 8, 2007 mmm-yoso Cusco and the Sacred Valley, Peru, Travel

When Oscar picked us up on our return trip from Machu Picchu, he had some great news for us. The Missus was enchanted by Cusco, and we needed to stay an extra day, in order to spend some free time, and we also had a very special dinner planned. From the very beginning Oscar told us not to worry, he'd take care of everything. And, as always he came through for us. We knew that Rumi Punku was booked solid, but Oscar had made arrangements for us in another hotel, and also changed our flight out of Cusco. The Missus was thrilled. It was pretty late by the time we arrived at Plaza de Armas….we made Oscar drop us off there, he had already spent so much time…. Instead of wandering around, we decided to grab dinner at a restaurant we noticed on Triunfo….

We had passed by this little restaurant at least five or six times, and I had some reservations about it. I tried to think of the Cebiche de Trucha, Trout Cebiche, a classic Andean preparation, rather than the "Hamburguesa con Papas Fritas"(burger and fries). Still, we didn't quite know what to expect, as we walked down the hallway….

We walked into a bright and clean Mom and Pop restaurant, and was seated next to the one other couple in the place. The couple, or at least the young man was very ummmm, "interesting". First off, he chain smoked his way through dinner, secondly, he, how should I put this, was rather flatulent, he cut a few pretty loud ones during the time he was there. Yes…….poison air from two ends! Well at least the 放屁were more of the "Sound and the Fury", rather than the "Silent but Deadly" type. We wondered what his dining companion thought. I'm guessing she was used to this, since she remained totally oblivious. Luckily, they were almost done with their main course, and we just had to deal with dessert! And they were gone by the time our food arrived.

The menu at Qori Chaska is pretty large, and varied, and there were also 3 course meals for s/12(4 bucks US) available as well. We placed our orders and some Pan(bread) arrived.

As with most of the bread we had in Cusco, this was on the dry side. There was a slight sweetness to this version though.

The Missus started with a bowl of Sopa de Quinoa (s/8 – about $2.65):

The Missus adored the rich chicken stock combined with the earthy-nutty flavor of Quinoa. The fava beans and potatoes was the "cherry on the top" for Her. She enjoyed this so much, that we've made this 4 times since we returned from Peru.

The Cebiche de Trucha(s/10 – approx $3.35 US)

When we ordered this, the nice portly Gentleman made sure to tell us "picante?", to which we replied, "si, picante por favor…" This version of cebiche was on the "dry" side with regards to the Leche de Tigre (cebiche marinade). The flavor was a bit more fishy and milky than I enjoy, and though on the chewy side, the Missus thought it to be pretty good.

I ordered the 3 course dinner (s/12 – $4 US). For me this was a two course dinner, dessert consisted of tinned fruit so we told them to forget about that part.

For the first course I ordered the Aji de Tarwi:

Tarwi is an ancient legume, that has a flavor mildly reminiscent of soy bean. In this case it is pureed and mixed with cheese sauce, much in the same manner as Aji de Gallina. I expected this to be on the cheesy-salty side, but is was not. The texture was thick and hearty and the flavor was mildly milky, but very mild.

For my main, I ordered the Trucha a la Chorrillana:

I've had different versions of this dish, with fish that is usually sauteed or fried, and topped with a nice mix of sauteed onions, peppers, and tomato. In this case, this nicely fried and seasoned trout(trucha) was served with the sauteed condiments on the side. That onion mixture was really tasty…the Missus kept picking at it! I don't know if it was an altitude thing, but the rice was hard here as well. Still this meal was well worth 12 soles. We had a nice night of sleep with thoughts of another full day in front of us.

Qori Chaska

Triunfa St, Cusco.

Cusco Miscellanea:

We really didn't have much "free time" our first few days in Cusco, but when we weren't watching "El Mayor" and the other denizens of Cusco, we spent time in a few different areas. We would visit this little shop on Saphi Plateros (aka Gringo Alley), where you will run into armies of people trying to sell you stuff.

This little shop made terrible coffee, but our favorite Lucuma Ice Cream (s/2):

This version wasn't too "eggy" or "custardy" in flavor for the Missus. I enjoyed it because it wasn't overly sweet.

The Missus would take Her (our) ice cream, and walk down the street to this intersection:

Have a seat, and wait for an accident to happen! You see all the streets are a bit offset, and one of the streets is coming down from a hill, and all those crazy drivers!

Luckily, we saw no accidents, but once a car stalled…and suddenly 3 Police Officers appeared from nowhere and helped push the car to the side of the road!

We also spent a few free moments around Plaza de Armas, Cusco's bustling central plaza.

You never know what's going to happen….. There we were minding our own business, when we heard music and chanting. And wouldn't you know it:

It was a political "demonstration"……

Usually we'd be a bit "concerned" when something like this would happen. But here in Cusco, it somehow seemed quaint, a bit exciting, and somehow normal. Check out the "band".

Being used to the press "mob" in the US, with huge cameras and microphones, the Missus found the press corps "cute". I'm guessing that the camcorders are the "network press", and the tape recorders are the "print press".

I love this photo of a Police Officer helping out a couple by taking photos of them on Plaza de Armas.

She worked really hard trying to get the perfect angle.

Read the Fine Print!:

Bottled water is an absolute necessity in Peru, whether to drink, or to brush your teeth. We went through tons of bottled water, and I had an early lesson on "reading the fine print". We went to a mercado and bought an 8 pack of bottled water. The cashier asked us a question in Spanish, and at that time the Missus didn't understand what she said(by the end of the trip the Missus would've understood, she has a knack for learning languages), so we just went "Si…si" paid for our water and left. Here's what the bottle said:

Con Gas means "with gas" (sparkling water), and they are not kidding….it is "muy con gas"! I non-chalantly popped the cap off one of these bottles…and had a free bath of "agua con gas". Believe me when I say, I checked every bottle of water I bought from then on!

Peru Day 4: At last, Machu Picchu, Aguas Calientes…and a very familiar restaurant “name”

October 4, 2007 mmm-yoso Cusco and the Sacred Valley, Peru, Travel

On day 4 we woke at 430am, and Oscar delivered us to the San Pedro Train Station for our 615 Vistadome train.

The train ride to Aguas Calientes takes about 4 hours, and the Vistadome has large windows, and good leg room, which allows for a pretty comfortable ride. Here's the route as defined on a place mat:

This mat was home to a Jamon con Queso Sandwich (your basic ham and cheese), and some Mat de Coca(coca tea) for a short time during our trip:

The ride out of Cusco was very enlightening, we rode past tenements, where people live in squalor by US standards.

Some of the shanties had corrugated iron roofs, held down by stones, old tires, you name it….

As we moved out of Cusco the scenery became more pastoral…..

So are these boys chasing the train?

Nope, they were actually late for school……some things are universal!

I really didn't take many more photos, I was too busy checking out the scenery….

We arrived at Aguas Calientes, named after the natural hot springs at a bit after 10 am. Aguas Caliente is the jumping off point for all tours to Machu Picchu. We were rushed off the train, found our tour group (they are color coded) and quickly herded through the gauntlet of market stalls surrounding the train station, and on to buses. The 20 minute bus trip to Machu Picchu is interesting, the buses are very modern and comfortable, and they also haul up the mountain, through about 7 or 8 switchbacks on roads that look like they can barely contain the buses….never mind that you actually pass buses coming down the mountain as you ascend!

We arrived at the entrance to Machu Picchu, and the somewhat chaotic mass of individuals looking for their guides…..we found our guide a fantastic, somewhat radical, very knowledgeable individual named Darwin Camacho Paredes, who has written several books on Machu Picchu. Walking through this mass of humanity, thoughts of an anti-climatic let down went through my head, but those thoughts were soon displaced……..as soon as we turned the corner and saw this:

Here's a better look at it….

Walking through Machu Picchu, there are moments of awe….where the phrase "lost world of the Incas" immediately come to mind.

Darwin proved to be an extremely knowledgeable guide….he made the best of the allotted 2 1/2 hours, and managed to show us some of the more important features of Machu Picchu. From the ruin called the Temple of the Three Windows by the person credited with "rediscovering" Machu Picchu, Hiram Bingham.

Do you know what the Hawaii connection to Machu Picchu is? Well, Hiram Bingham, actually Hiram Bingham III was born in Honolulu, and was the Grandson of….well, Hiram Bingham I of course, one of the first group of Missionaries who brought Christianity to Hawaii. Hiram Bingham graduated from Punahou, before attending Yale, UC Berkeley, and Harvard.

One of the many interesting buildings is the Temple of the Sun:

In addition to the amazing stone work, and the unique shape, in the interior of the Temple of the Sun is a unique stone sculpture. Here's a look from above:

"Inti" was the Sun God, and it is believed that this temple was built to honor Inti. Here is Darwin with a photo from the Summer Solstice:

More photos of this event can be found here.

Not all Inca stone work is created equal. Compare the stone work on each side of this "street".

The "finer" stonework is used for important buildings and structures, while the "rougher" stonework is used for residences, kitchens, and other similar structures. We were told that this type of stonework was covered in mud and plaster.

This is called the Sacred Rock….looks just like a randomly placed rock you say…..

If you closely, and at a better angle, you'll notice that the rock mimics Huayna Picchu…..the peak visible in all those photos of Machu Picchu.

Known as the "Hitching post of the sun", the Intiwatana, according to Darwin, is a astronomic observatory, the four angles of the central stone points to the 4 cardinal directions(north, south, east, west):

If you look closely, you'll notice that the stone is chipped……Darwin is quoted in this reprint of an LA Times article, explaining how this occurred.

Some other locations covered on the tour includes the Royal Tomb, located right below of the Temple of the Sun:

It is thought that this could be the tomb of Pachcutec, the ninth Emperor of the Inca Empire. Darwin explained that the location, in the middle of the city, the unique architecture, and the orientation of the entrance (perfectly East), would support that theory.

You can see the Condor Temple in the middle of this photo:

A large and unique structure in the shape of a Condor(you can see the outstretched wings of the condor), which contains an altar in the shape of a condor.

As you can tell, there is a lot here…..one could create a blog with daily entries about features of Machu Picchu and have content daily.

So much to see.

The tour ended at about 130pm, we were let loose, to either return back to Aguas Calientes for a buffet lunch, or we could spend more time at Machu Picchu, so long that we made our 340pm train back to Cusco. Guess which we chose????

We took a ton more photos, a few from the Watchman's Tower….you know, the one that everyone takes at Machu Picchu. Even though Machu Picchu closes daily, there are a few "residents". We managed to take photos of a few of them:

And of course….the llamas:

We finally caught the bus and made it back to Aguas Calientes. With not too much time on our hands, we decided to find a quick bite. Getting a bit turned around, we ended up in a small Mercado.

The Missus noticed everyone was eating the same good looking stew. So with typical aplomb, and asked where we could get some of the stew in Her survival Spanish. The lady walked us upstairs from the Mercado to this little restaurant.

It turns out that the stew the Missus was ogling was the special of the day; Matasquita. The restaurant also specializes in 3 course lunches for s/12(4 bucks), so I ordered a 3 course lunch for myself! Once our food was ready (para lleva – to go), we hurried over to the train station and had a hearty lunch.

For my soup, I chose Sopa de Pollo(chicken soup).

I never had a shot at this….the Missus cleaned it up in no time. She loved the rich flavor of the broth.

I also got some Pan al Ajo(garlic bread):

A simple preparation….pan (bread) sliced and stuffed with garlic butter and oregano. I really enjoyed this…well, I rarely have anything with lots of garlic that I don't enjoy.

My main was Lomo Saltado, the classic Peruvian stir fry of strips of beef, onions, tomatoes, and papas fritas (basically french fries):

As we found with many dishes in Peru, the meat was quite lean, and on the tough side. The flavor of the tomatoes and onions was good, though the beef did not taste well marinated. Still, it was hot and fresh, and filled me up.

Here's the Missus's Matasquita s/8(can you say about $2.60 US?)

Very thick, rich, and hearty. The Missus told me She loved the flavor, but like the lomo, the pork in this dish was very tough, so She skipped on it. She did a good job of cleaning up on everything else.

From the files of how thoughtful people are……I guess the restaurant didn't have any plastic spoons, so when we opened up our bolsa de plastico (plastic bag), we found that the nice lady had included one of their spoons.

We kept it……maybe one day we'll be able to return it!

As we walked across the bridge to the train station, I stopped to take a photo of the little restaurant. To this point, I didn't even know the name of the place. When I saw the restaurant sign, I just had to laugh:

Yes, we had come all the way to Machu Picchu….and had lunch at El Pollo Loco! Though the food wasn't like any El Pollo Loco I know of!

The train trip back to Poroy(Oscar chose the Poroy station because it saves an hour on the return trip) was uneventful, though the staff on the train kept us entertained, with, among other things an Alpaca clothing "fashion show". Oscar met us at the Poroy station with some good news……..

We'll take a short break from Peru for a few days, and have a few SoCal posts!