Alfresco Cevicheria, Lima, Peru

Back in Lima on our last day before flying home, we knew we had to have ceviche again. This time we tried Alfresco, a place in Miraflores recommended by a concierge. This time, having an extra mouth to help in eating (a fellow traveler from New York), we were glad we could order a variety and maybe even finish them. We started with a platter of grilled seafood -- squid, fish, octopus, shrimp, and scallops.

We then ordered 2 of the cold ceviches -- one was the Alfresco specialty (which apparently was voted a favorite of Lima). The other was a ceviche mixto.

Finally, we finished off with a seafood rice. This was so delicious - my favorite dish. Thought we could handle all this food with an extra person, but at the end of the meal I was still absolutely stuffed!

Alfresco
Malecon Balco 790
Miraflores, Lima

La Bodega de la Trattoria

We decided instead of having dessert at Huaca Pucllana, we'd walk across the street and get coffee and a sweet at La Bodega de la Trattoria. Apparently this is the more casual outpost of a restaurant La Trattoria that is owned by a popular Peruvian TV cooking star. The coffee was excellent, and we share a Cinco Leches cake -- in addition to the milk, condensed milk, and evaporated milk of the traditional Tres Leches, this version added coconut milk and dulce de leche.

Huaca Pucllana, Lima, Peru

I can't remember where I read about this place, but it sounded so amazing, we had to go. Set next to pre-Incan ruins right in the middle of Lima, Huaca Pucllana is truly an experience. You walk up a cobbled walk to a colonial mansion next to the ruins, and if you're lucky enough to be seated ont he veranda, you are literally in the setting pictured above. We didn't have a reservation, but the hostess and wait staff were very cordial and accomodating. We sat in a comfortable bar area eating corn nuts and perusing the menu until a table freed up outside.

For his starter, Redneckhunter chose the crab croquettes served in a shot of corn cream. He was hoping for a crab version of the ham croquettes from Amada that just burst in your mouth, little balls of delicious juiciness -- but these sadly weren't as good. Fun presentation though.

My appetizer was much better -- a corn cake topped with beef and mushroom ragout. The corn cake was smooth and creamy.

For our entrees we both chose from the section of the menu of reinterpretations of traditional Peruvian Creole cuisine. Unfortunately, I accidentally deleted the photo of Redneckhunter's entree, which was Breaded and pounded tenderloin served with refried black beans and rice, fried bananas and sunny side-up egg. As he put it, like country-fried steak Peruvian-style.

I got the Creole Style Chupe, typical Peruvian crab chowder, served with corn, lima beans, cheese and topped with a fried egg. The broth was wondefully flavorful. It reminded me of a high-end version of the Costa Rican sopa marinera at our place in Trenton.

After dinner, we walked a little bit around the perimeter of the ruins taking pictures. The site was closed as a tourist site, but we got to see a little bit. It would have been nice to see it during the day, but I was glad to have gone at night and been able to have the full spectacular dining experience.

Huaca Pucllana
General Borgoño Cdra 8 s/n, Miraflores
Phone 445-4042

Pescados Capitales, Lima, Peru

The first of several posts of our honeymoon culinary adventures in Peru. So one of the things that pushed Peru over for us as a honeymoon destination was that Lima was called The Next Great Food City by Bon Appetit magazine.

We flew in to Lima at 6:30 am, took a harrowing taxi ride across town to our hotel, checked in, took a nap and a shower, then head out for lunch. Our first stop was Pescados Capitales in the seaside Miraflores neighborhood. Our friend Debbie had given us the meal as a wedding present. The restaurant also had been mentioned in the NY Times 36 Hours in Lima. The title of the restaurant is a play on words. In Spanish, "pescados" means fish, and "pecados" means sins, so everything on the menu is based around the 7 deadly sins.

Redneckhunter started out with the ubiqitous national drink -- a Pisco Sour -- pisco grape brandy, lime juice, simple syrup, egg white and Angostura bitters. Then we ordered 3 ceviches and 1 appetizer, thinking of US-sized ceviche portions... it was WAY too much food... I think you really need to have ceviche with a big group of people so that each person gets a bite and you can try a little bit of a lot of things.

Our first dish was a "Pecaito" a minor sin -- Conchitas a la Chalaca -- scallops in the shell with chopped red onion, new peas, lime juice, and chili.

The second one (pictured on top) was my favorite. This one was actually a Virtue rather than a sin: Temperance: Tiradito of Tuna -- with asparagus and mushrooms and a sauce of honey, olive oil, and orange juice. The traditional way to serve ceviche in Peru is with sweet potato and corn, the sweetness of them complementing the sourness of the ceviche marinade.

By the time the third dish came around, I was already pretty full. Another Virtue: Generosity: Ceviche Capital 3 x 3 -- three types of fish -- sole, salmon, and tuna, mixed with three types of onion -- white, red, and green, and three types of peppers.

When we didn't finish this one, the waiters were very concerned that we didn't like it, so we tried to explain that we were just too ambitious in our ordering...

Because it was a hot dish, they actually brought our appetizer out last. Redneckhunter loves the made up pseudo-Polynesian/Asian finger food known as Crab Rangoon, so when he saw these Tequenos on the menu, he wanted them -- Fried wonton wrappers stuffed with shrimp. The photo doesn't convey just how large these things were - we're not talking bite-size - each was about 4 inches long!

Pescados Capitales
1337 Avenida La Mar
Miraflores
Lima, Peru