Quillen Blalock: Student Report from 2015 Alternative Winter Break in Peru
I am a foodie. And I came to Peru determined to discover the best authentic Peruvian meals. In no particular order, I will provide my favorite restaurants and dishes! Most of the meals I had were served in three courses with the appetizer, main course, and dessert. (Interesting tidbit: you do not pay tips in Peru. The price you pay includes service and the meal is still cheaper than the average meal you will buy in the United States.) I choose to include some prices in soles, the Peruvian currency. (A sol is 0.3 of a dollar.) With most meals I had a bottle of water for safe drinking and to stay hydrated to cope with Peru’s altitude. Another common drink I had during my meals was Coca tea, a popular tea made from coca leaves. It tastes very good and helps you avoid altitude sickness. You can only get this in Peru, so I highly recommend trying it! Without further ado, here are six of my most memorable meals in Peru:
1. Pollo a la Brasa – aka The Staple , Los Toldos Restaurant
If pizza is one of the most popular dishes in the US, then grilled chicken and fries seems to be the equivalent in Peru. ‘Pollo’ is Spanish for ‘chicken,’ and ‘brasa’ is the word used to describe something ‘grilled.’ The french fries and chicken were excellent. It was a hearty meal that reminded me a lot of what you could get at home, and the meal had a familiar taste to it that would be easy to digest for those that aren’t quite as adventurous. You could probably get this meal most anywhere, and it can be enjoyed at a very fair price.
Bonus info: this restaurant also has very good alpaca steak!
2. “Cuy” – aka the Delicacy @ Valentina Restaurant
Every country has a delicacy. A Guinea Pig (cuy) is Peru’s. I highly recommend trying it! If you get this dish at a nice restaurant, it should be perfectly safe as well. The cuy (Spanish word for Guinea Pig) itself tasted like gamey chicken (but doesn’t everything?), and I enjoyed it. The meal was originally prepared whole and brought out to me so I could take pictures with it, and afterwards, they cut up the cuy for eating. It was served with a delicious stuffed pepper and also potatoes. (You will find potatoes and rice are a common trend in Peruvian dishes. Peru likes its carbs.) I admit, there were other foods that tasted better, but this meal was one of the top experiences of the trip.
3. Aji de Callina
I found this at multiple restaurants, too. It is a traditional Peruvian chicken stew, and quite popular. The sauce is mildly spicy and creamy, and the stew has a thick texture as it is mixed with breadcrumbs or grounded nuts. I very much enjoyed this meal! It did not feel too unfamiliar from my usual diet in the US, but still gave me the joy of exploring a popular Peruvian dish. I saw this stew served over rice as well as potatoes. It also had a very reasonable price.
As bonus info, I ordered Sopa De Quinoa as an appetizer with this meal and loved it. It’s also easy to digest. Quinoa is an ancient grain of the Incas. The soup has a yellowish broth with corn and other veggies like squash and carrots. It,s very healthy and tastes good!
4. Toto’s House – The Peruvian Buffet in Aguas Calientes
After a long day exploring the wonders of Machu Picchu (which is a must do in Peru! I loved it!), I enjoyed an excellent, refreshing meal at Toto’s House. It was a great way to catch your breath and relax after hiking around at 8000 feet elevation. It was served buffet style, and there was something I liked in almost every dish. One of my favorites was the sweet potato salad. That was particularly good. Speaking of salad! the buffet did have nice salad options. One should be careful of the greens you eat in Peru to avoid bad bacteria from either the vegetable itself or the water used to wash it, but the salad here was very safe in my experience. The buffet had excellent meat options between beef, pork, and chicken dishes. My favorite food here was easily the creamy mashed potatoes combined with the pork. It was filling and tasted great.
5. Hamburgers @ Papacho’s – American food never loses
If you had told me I would have one of the best burgers I’ve ever had before going to Peru, I’d have thought you were crazy. Cusco is a town built around tourism; so many restaurants are designed to appeal to tourists like Americans. That doesn’t always mean amazing restaurants with great food, but Papacho’s was indeed a fantastic restaurant. It has a sports bar atmosphere with lots of space. The restaurant is on the second floor of a building and overlooks the main square, Plaza des Armas, in Cusco. There are even crayons for you to color on the paper tablecloth; you’re already having fun without the food! But the food is where the money is made and will not disappoint. I had the Papacha burger (S/. 39.00) cooked medium-well, with blue cheese, bacon, elderberry ketchup, onion rings, tomatoes, and lettuce. I’ve had my fair share of burgers living in the south, and I love them. This burger was absolutely incredible. I ordered it with what I will call the BEST chocolate milkshake I have ever had; I’d come for the shake alone! Other burgers of interest were the Anticuchera (spicy burger with veggies, shoestring fries, sautéed potatoes, creole corn salad, and creamy huacatay sauce) and the Cusco (onions, hot rocoto pepper, saut&eactu;ed with beef juice, hot uchucuta, avocado, and shoestring fries). The burgers not only tasted excellent, but they provide a Peruvian flair for a familiar American dish. Plus, for five more soles, you can get your burger upgraded to a super burger of 270grams! That’s less than $2 to upgrade!
Sidenote: I’d be remiss if I didn,t include it is possible members of my team got sick at this restaurant. (Not a full-blown stomach bug, but some type of stomach bacteria.) While I can’t confirm if this restaurant was the culprit, if you go, order your burgers well done and avoid vegetables just to be safe. If you are still unsure, go for the atmosphere and the shakes! I actually went back a second time even with the knowledge of my friends possibly getting sick there. It was that good! I would save this restaurant towards the end of the trip if you get tired of Peru’s usual dishes of chicken and rice.
6. Oil-Based Pizza @ La Bodega 138
This was easily one of my favorite restaurants, and it had many excellent pizza options. The restaurant was a bit small, so it couldn’t fit large parties, but I went with a group of six and loved it. The atmosphere was also very appealing. I ordered lemonade, which was fantastic, and the bread and sauces brought out before the meal were incredible. It was such a great surprise we had to order a second basket of bread. The pizza brought home the trophy, however. We ordered a medium (S/.35.00) and large (S/.45.00) pizza for our party of six, and it was just about the perfect amount. (If you are really hungry I’d order more.) One pizza was the Red Hot Chili Pepper pizza. If you like spicy dishes, this is for you. Most Peruvian dishes we found were unfortunately quite mild, so this was a pleasant change. It had ham, bacon, and peppers. The other was a Leone that was for you meat lovers. It had salami, pork sausage, bacon, and19 tomato. The waiter also recommended the Shashenka and Rafaela. None of us left hungry, and I could honestly say it was one of the best pizza experiences I’ve had! Not New York pizza, but then again, very very few places have the perfect pizza like those New Yorkers know how to make. This is a must-go!
I don’t believe I’ve ever been on a trip that was as incredibly fun as it was educational. The food was just a small part of the fantastic experience I had in Peru, but I hope you enjoyed my post and learned about some of its great eats! Viva la Peru!