Whenever there’s any talk of cevicheria’s in Lima, usually someone mentions Pescados Capitales. The name means Capital Fish, which is a play on the phrase Capital Sins (Sins in Spanish is pecados, which sounds almost like pescados). The menu, which is ginormous, is arranged around capital sins such as Greed, Gluttony, Vain, Ire, Envy, and others.

Tiempo Santo, or Holy Time, is when god comes down off his pedestal and cannot see the sins of man. On Good Friday, after acknowledging the crucifixion of Christ, the townspeople begin a festival of decadence where, since Jesus is gone, all sins cannot be seen until he rises again on Easter Sunday.

Tacama Vineyards in Ica, Peru have always produced Piscos, though I have never really been that impressed with them in the past. They have never been terrible, but just average. On a recent visit to Ica I stopped by the Tacama distillery to see what’s new and taste a few of their new piscos and wines and I was impressed on both fronts.

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Barranco, Lima’s seaside suburb to the south of Miraflores, was once a weekend retreat for Lima’ s Creole bourgeoisie built homes there in the 19th and 20th Century, as well as wealthy German and British immigrants. In the late 20th century the area became decrepit, a haven for drugs, and fell apart. The last few decades have seen resurgence in investment and in the neighborhood and many of the most prominent families, writers, artists, and celebrities in Lima now live in the restored colonial mansions that line the cliffs.

Cusco, once a culinary wasteland, is increasingly becoming a high watermark of Peruvian cuisine. No other places in the Andes apart from maybe Quito, Ecuador has such an impressive gastronomic scene. While restaurants like Bistrot 370 are redefining the city, outside in the Sacred Valley where things have always been a little bit more laid back.

Iquitos, Peru is the largest city in the world not connected by roads. The capital of Peru’s northern Amazon rainforest sits on the Rio Ucayali, not far from where it meets with the Amazon River. The city was officially founded on Jan. 5, 1864 by the Peruvian Navy, however, the Spanish conquistadors were in the area as early as 1542, and numerous native tribes were there well before that.

The Nikkei (Japanese-Peruvian) take on ceviche is tiradito. Like ceviche raw fish is marinated in lime juice, where the citric acid cooks the fish. It is served in a number of ways, but the common traits are thin slices of fish. Usually there is a thick aji-based sauce (a yellow… Read More →

Rafael Osterling (www.rafaelosterling.com) is a Lima culinary name on par with Gaston Acurio and a growing number of restaurants to match the celebuchef. Satellites of his Rafael restaurant in Lima have opened this year in Bogota and Puerto Madero (Buenos Aires) amid lots of hype, so his Cusco restaurant, Bistrot 370, has opened relatively under the radar. If you were in Cusco and weren’t looking for it, you probably wouldn’t even know it was there.

 I couldn’t resist taking a photo of this upon seeing it in a Cusco, Peru supermarket. I have seen raviolis made from Coca flour, along with cookies, tea, candy, and everything else, but this is the first I have seen of Coca leaf beer. I’m not sure why one… Read More →