mmm-yoso!!!

Lima: A Nice Oceanfront Walk, Lunch at La Mar, Lucuma Ice Cream from Blueberry Cafe, and a Stroll Thru the "Cat Park" (Parque Kennedy)

Man, time sure does fly, doesn't it? Would you believe it's been almost 9 years since we were in Lima? It was time for the Missus's annual "'birthday trip". This year, I really didn't have much time. Plus, I've got a couple of big projects coming up and probably won't be able to take extended time off for a while. And so, like I mentioned in my previous post, we decided on knocking a couple items off the Missus's bucket list. Since this was going to be a short one, with many early mornings and late nights....almost like a giant lay-over at times; we decided to go for the gusto on several legs. Starting with our round trip to Lima, in which we flew Delta One. This meant that we'd actually manage to catch a short nap (I really have a hard time sleeping sitting up) and be able to use the lounges, both in San Diego and Atlanta.

Our flight got into Lima at 11pm, so basically our entire day was spent travelling. Taxis and such in Lima can be hit or miss and I really didn't want to have to deal with all that stuff, so I used a wonderful transfer service named Taxidatum. These guys were awesome; just $20 from/to the airport, the drivers were always on time, things were such a breeze. During our previous stay in Miraflores, the Missus loved the JW Marriott. Great service, comfy bed, all rooms had an ocean view, so this we were we stayed inbound to Lima.

We'd noticed that Lima had changed slightly since our last visit almost a decade ago. But one thing had gotten worse, the traffic......man, I thought it was bad before!

And yet, there was so much familiar in Parque Alfredo Salazar. As was Larcomar Shopping Center, built into the cliffs overlooking the Pacific.

Though there were new things that captured our attention. Like when did Paddington Bear get here?

According to Atlas Obscura, this was a gift from the UK. I guess Paddington was returning to his roots; though Miraflores is far from "Darkest Peru".

The grey and hazy skies were quite familiar and in a way comforting. We'd later learn, from our driver "Benjamin" that they call the skies in Lima, Panza de Burro, because the grey reminds them of a "donkey's belly". Such a perfect description.

We decided to walk along the 10 kilometer path along the cliffs overlooking the Pacific called "El Malecón", taking our time to enjoy the sights.

Near the Villena Bridge, which also has a path to the beach below, you'll come across two of Lima's most well known sculptures, the "Intihuatana" (The Sun Anchor) on one side and Parque del Amor (no translation needed, right?) with the sculpture known as El Beso (The Kiss) on the other side. I was told that on Saturdays, at around 7pm, you'll see many folks taking wedding photos under this iconic piece of public art.

For some reason, I've always been fascinated by the feet of this sculpture....well, TMI perhaps?

If the rest of the park looks familiar to you, I heard that it was inspired by Gaudi's Park Guell in Barcelona. Though it doesn't have the same "Tim Burtonesque - Walt Disneyfied - Dr Seussificated" (what I call Park Guell), fairytale feel to the place, it's still a nice area to stroll or even take a break.

Or perhaps even a short nap?

There's quite a bit to catch your attention along the way. Like the statue of Peru's most beloved poet.

Or perhaps a lighthouse.

Maybe you'll notice that dogs are loved in Peru, just as they are here in the states.

Or maybe you'll stop and watch some ambitious soul trying to ride his motorized unicycle thingy....

Or maybe not, as this guy drew about a half-dozen onlookers, but after about 5 failed attempts everyone pretty much lost interest.....

Still, there's a lot to see. By this point we had reached Avenida Santa Cruz and after taking our lives into our hands at several intersections, we arrived at our destination on Avenida La Mar.

During our previous time in Lima, we had a short list of cebicherias, with a final two being Gaston Acurio's La Mar, now a world wide institution, or Pescados Capitales. In the end, because we had eaten at Acurio's Astrid & Gaston the night before, we chose Pescados Capitales. So we considered a visit to La Mar to be unfinished business, which we decided to quickly address when we got to Miraflores.

When we arrived, shortly before opening, there was already a line forming. And a few minutes after being seated, the place had totally filled up. The crowd looked to be about 50-50 tourists to locals.

The crew here is very efficient and professional. One guy basically works your table, another gets drinks, and yet another goes from table to table taking orders. The plantain and sweet potato chips, crisp and light arrived quickly, along with three sauces. We enjoyed the aji rocoto the best as it had a nice "zing". We found that folks in Miraflores were really cautious about giving tourists anything spicy.

Then the wonderfully warm roasted corn kernals, cancha arrived. Oh my, how I've missed this stuff!

The Missus couldn't wait to get Her mitts on a Pisco Sour (24s/$8). This one was really boozy, quite strong, so I ended up having most of it.

As for the ordering.....well, we had things in mind, but our waiter had a problem with what we wanted as most of it seemed a bit the same. I finally acquiesced and went with some of his recommendations. The Missus was not amused. But at least we started off with what She really wanted; the Cebiche Classico - Cabrilla 59s/$20).

The camote (sweet potato) was on the dry side, but decently flavored. The fish was tender, with a slight chew, though we'd have better later on, this was a solid #3 on the cebiche list for Peru. I enjoyed the lech de tigre, though the Missus prefers something with a bit more citrus oomph. The Missus hasn't met many versions of choclo She doesn't like and this was no exception. This was on the mild side with regards to heat and we'd soon learn to ask for aji limo, chopped spicy red chilies on the side to add some zip.

We'd been talked into the Cebiche Nikei (56s/$18.75).

The Missus has come to detest overly sweet, fusion, tuna based dishes with heavy handed flavors. So this didn't make it past "go" for Her. And while I thought this was nothing special, at least they didn't just mar everything in confusing flavors like the tuna cebiche dish we had at Pescados Capitales. It wasn't too sweet, but had a bunch of flavors going on that was a bit too much for me.

We'd also been talked into the Chucuito (39s/$13). Basically a scallop based cebiche/tiradito type dish.

The scallops were very plump and sweet, but the flavors were marred with too much mayo. You really couldn't make much else out. We ended up scraping a good portion of the mayo off, so we could enjoy the flavors of the tomato, onion, and the creamy texture of the avocado, along with the scallops.

The one item I did insist on was the causa, this version is called the Miraflorina (26s/$8.75) and has shrimp and crab with an aji amarilla mayonnaise.

For me, this was the best causa I encountered during our trip. The potatoes where nice and light, the flavor of the crab came through nicely, and while this could have used a tad of acid, the tomato helped things along. A very nice causa.

Overall, we found our visit to La Mar to be a bit of a mixed bag. This ended up being our most expensive cebiche type meal (other than in Hanga Roa) and we'd have much better later on. I found that the Missus gravitated to more traditional flavoring and really didn't care for sweet flavors, other than what is provided by the seafood in Her cebiche and tiradito. And overly fusionized, somewhat unfocused versions were not appreciated. And while we'd have what I'd call one of the most fusion meals for dinner, the flavors would be focused, and the intent of the dishes were quite clear.

La Mar Cebicheria
Avenida La Mar 770
Lima, Peru  

After lunch we decided to walk back to the JW Marriott (this IS the Missus, right?). The Missus had getting some Lucuma Ice Cream on Her agenda. I also wanted a nice Inka Cola. For some reason, Inka Cola tastes much better in Peru! So we stopped at the nearby Metro Express, which had the ice cream booth and I grabbed an Inka Cola while the Missus stood in line for some Lucuma Ice Cream. While I was waiting to pay for my Inka Cola, I noticed the Missus came around front sans ice cream. She told me that the folks in the booth took all the orders for the locals in line, even those behind Her and totally ignored Her, so She decided "screw them". Very sad, though this was the one and only time we were treated this way during our time in Peru.

A few blocks down the street we found this place.

And the Missus got Her Lucuma Ice Cream. In case you weren't reading all those years ago and don't know what the heck lucuma is; it is also known as "egg fruit" and is quite gritty and powdery in raw form. But made into ice ream, the custardy-sweet potato flavors come through perfectly.

Blueberry Cafe
Calle Schell 285
Lima, Peru

The Missus and I found a bench and enjoyed our ice cream chased with Inka Cola. It was so nice to be back in Lima!

There was one more place I wanted to check out on the way back to our hotel. Right along the intersection of Larco and Oscar R Benavides in Parque Kennedy. Yes, it is named after John F Kennedy, due to, from what I understand is the aid he provided Latin America during his presidency. It is a nice, relaxed green space, but there's one interesting feature of Parque Kennedy. It is home to either 80 or 100 stray cats, depending on which post/article you read.

These are not your typical stray/feral cats. They seem clean, well fed, and healthy. And also quite friendly, though the Missus is not fond of our feline friends.

According to this post, no one knows how all the cats ended up here. I had several cats as pets growing up, so I'm somewhat fond of them. There is a group of people who monitor the cats, making sure the park is clean and pet safe disinfectant is used twice a day. The cats also receive vet care and are all neutered, so who's going to complain about these, right?

And there are those somewhat eccentric characters we saw.....

And some that were so adorable.....

I think this sculpture in the park should be replaced with one of a cat, right?

We got turned around a bit and ended up walking in the wrong direction for a few blocks after Parque Kennedy, finally righting ourselves. Getting lost is half the fun anyway...so long you don't end up with trouble on your hands, which is hard to do in Miraflores....lovely Miraflores, literally to "watch flowers".

Getting back to the hotel, we showered and took a short afternoon nap. We were looking forward to dinner. It would be quite the adventure....

Thanks for reading!

Where in the world are we?

In case you've noticed I've been gone for a couple of days. Only had a short time for a trip this time around. So, I thought we'd knock some items off the Missus' "bucket list". Which conveniently meant heading back to one of my favorite cities when it comes to food.

And we weren't disappointed in the least.

If anything, things have gotten even better!

Our other stops were fairly good as well.

And then there were the places. One photo tells it all.

Just a beautiful place, where every photo becomes a postcard.

And where I learned that it's ok to go down some tight, dark hole.....

Because the payoff can be amazing.

Sort of like the sunsets.

And the places are the stuff of legend.

Even the dogs (though not the cats) are chill.

It all makes for a good story over a cold one.

We were even able to take care of a second bucket list item as well.

Overall, until today, it seems like one big layover......early mornings, with so much time spent in airports, or long drives. But tonight, I have time to regroup. With a cold one and the view from our room.

We've got one more day. And hopefully a couple good meals left before heading home. So I'll be back soon.

Remember, don't take candy from strangers!

 

Circling Back to Latin Chef

Recently, I'd been wondering how things were going at Latin Chef, I hadn't been by nearly three years. Once upon a time LC used to be almost a weekly stop for us. But over the years things changed; first they lost their original chef who went back to Cusco, so there was no one to make that wonderful tiradito. Then on my last visit, LC had started serving Brazilian food. So now three years later?

Well, there was a little placard on the table that says Latin Chef now serves a buffet lunch. And looking through the shelves, I did indeed see a buffet set-up....they also put in a sink, a toaster oven, and a microwave.....in plain view of  the customers. The seating has been cut back too.

The dish I had been wondering about was the lomo saltado; once my favorite version in San Diego was served at Latin Chef, it had the right amount of soy sauce, the tomatoes were firm, but just breaking down, the sauce not too salty, but full of flavor, and the meat, toothsome, like it should be, but not tough. So I decided to get the Lomo Saltado ($13.50) which made me want to cry......

The sauce, what little there was, just had no flavor; the tomatoes weren't cooked enough, look at the meat, it barely has any color, was tough, and had that mild metallic flavor of something starting to go south. Two of the papas fritas were not cooked fully. Even the quality of the rice was terrible.

It really made me sad. Once upon a time, this was the typical Lomo Saltado at Latin Chef.

Over the years there are more than few places that have fallen off our list. And while Latin Chef had been off our radar for a while, this meal particularly bothers me. Once upon a time, the food here was quite good. Good enough to inspire us to travel to Peru, where I had one of the most memorable meals of my life. That was about 8 1/2 years ago...sadly, things do change over time.

Latin Chef
1142 Garnet Ave
San Diego, CA 92109

Revisits to Szechuan Taste and Nazca Grill

Man was it hot last week! I don't ever remember temps like this in March.......high 80's and low 90's. I'm not looking forward to the summer.

On the other hand, this gave me a chance to have some of my favorite "warm weather" dishes. So here goes....

Szechuan Taste:

At the end of my post on Szechuan Taste in December I wrote, "When things warm up, I'll come back for the Sichuan Liang Mian and the Ko Shui Ji and I'm hoping for maybe some nice surprises." Little did I know that I'd be getting some surprises alright. Anyway, it was without a doubt warm and I do try to keep my word when possible. So here I was......

The young lady who waited on me was very nice and sweet. I ordered those two favorite hot weather dishes....actually other liang cai like Fu Qi Fei Pian are also among my favorites during hot weather, but man, the version here was really bad.

First up, the Ko Shui Ji - "Mouthwatering (saliva) Chicken".

The sauce looked watery and when I pulled the bowl over I found that it was almost hot! I've never had Ko Shui Ji served to me at an insipidly warm temperature. The sauce was actually a broth; below the slick of already watered down chili oil was liquid that resembled chicken noodle soup. The chicken was boneless, skin on thigh that looked carelessly poached. As for flavor, well there was a decent amount of Sichuan Peppercorn, but everything else tasted watered down, not spicy, no salt, no vinegar tones, no sweet....like eating a piece of cardboard with a hint of Sichuan Peppercorn. ick......

As for my Sichuan Liang Mian, well it was a rollercoaster ride. It really didn't look like much when it arrived.

And yet, things look promising when I found the motherlode of sauce on the bottom and mixed everything together. I then took a bite and actually swore out loud....like wash your mouth out with soup loud. In retrospect chewing on a bar of Ivory Soap might have been better than this. Good god, this was eating a mouthful of MSG....it was so salty to the point of bitterness. Also, what's the deal with serving raw noodles that haven't even had the flour rinsed off? I've even had that happen to me at Fu An Garden.

So this is what happened. I felt really bad for the sweet young lady, so I took everything to go. She didn't make the food..... And I proceeded to pitch it. I hate waste, but I just couldn't bring myself to eat this. I felt bad, but eating this stuff made me feel worse. I think I'm done here..... So yes, in the end I did get a "surprise", but it wasn't a good one.

Szechuan Taste
8199 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92111

Nazca Grill:

One of my favorite cuisines is that of Peru. The variety can be stunning, from the traditional dishes like Cuy, to the "Chifa" dishes like Lomo Saltado, it seems that all who came ashore in Peru and stayed have made their mark on the nation. It was love at first bite when I first had Peruvian food after moving to LA. Peru also hold a special place in my heart, it was the first country the Missus and I visited together way back when. In San Diego County, pricy Q'ero probably does Peruvian the best, but it very pricy and a long drive. For lunch, even Latin Chef in PB was a bit too far. Plus, I was looking for that "Nikkei" influenced dish, tiradito.

The place look quite the same since my last visit. Man, it was hot, so I started with the Causa, in the of Nazca Grill, it's like what I would call a Causa Limeña, a layered potato "cake" of sorts. I went with the shrimp version.

The shrimp was kind of watery and a bit on the fishy side. The sauce seemed more like a thousand island dressing than the aji rocoto based sauce I'd had in the past. The presentation sure has gotten better, though I'm not sure the dish as a whole has been improved. I preferred the original version I had in 2009.

The tiradito was passable. In contrast to cebiche pescado, the fish in tiradito (I was told snapper) is not "cooked" in citrus. It's basically sashimi in a sauce. Today it was a mild aji amarilla sauce.

There's was a decent amount of fish in this. There used to be a touch of lime in the tiradito here, but today, it was muted. I did love the yucca frita and the choclo (as I always love). This was fine, if nothing special. It was a bit too mild for my taste.....

I'm afraid we'll have to head back to Peru one of these days....I did promise the Missus that we'll get to Easter Island, so perhaps a Chile - Peru two-fer. Especially since we did miss the Nazca Lines the last time.

Time will tell. Anything can happen. But like I mentioned earlier.....I do try to keep my promises.

Nazca Grill
4310 Genesee Ave
San Diego, CA 92117

 

Panca Peruvian Cuisine and Rotisserie (Oceanside) Revisited

I was going to do a post on Pho, but with the temps hitting the 80's, that just seemed wrong, so I decided to go with something else instead. Recently, I found myself up in the Oceanside area again around lunch time. I'd made a short list of places to visit which came down to Bull Taco, or revisits to Guahan or Panca. I decided on Panca, because the weather just seemed to tell me Peruvian. Plus, I'd heard that Panca had expanded beyond the Pollo a la Brassa and Lomo Saltado and is now incorporating other Peruvian dishes.

I hold a special place in my heart for Peruvian Food, I still recall the first meal I had ages ago at El Rocoto in Gardena, which we revisited a couple of years ago and the flavors and fragrances of Peru are indelibly stored in my head.

So Panca, which is now Panca Peruvian Cuisine AND Rotisserie it was......

Not only has the menu here changed, but the entire look of the interior is different. The bright colors replaced by darker woods. What was interesting for me was the use of wood pallets as window dressing and paneling....it looks like someone here watches those restaurant "rescue" shows, huh?

I really had a hard time selecting my dishes while quaffing down a refreshing, yet bubble-gummy, Inka Cola. Man....I really did miss this stuff!

The menu now had a gauntlet of my favorite dishes; ceviche, tiradito, anticuchos (on weekends), and causa.....

Every version of the Nikkei influenced tiradito has been different. It's always an adventure, a roll of the dice, and gives one an interesting insight into the cook. This one ($12.95) look like many I've had, but was still distinctive.

The fish on this day was red snapper, a nice firm fish. I prefer long thin slices of fish for my tiradito that have been slightly flattened by a knife, this were slices that were a bit too thick for my taste, making the fish really crunchy, rather than having a nice, pleasant chew. The sauce, though on the thin side had decent flavor, but in my opinion could have used a bit more aji amarillo paste and perhaps something, maybe some ginger, to balance out the lime juice and give it a signature finish. It wasn't bad by any means, but for everyday tiradito, I really miss the stuff the original cook at Latin Chef used to make.

My inner glutton said to try the Causa, but the voice of the Missus whispering in my ear from 30 miles away, told me to get the Quinoa Cakes ($6), which being a tamed and docile husband of 15+ years, is what I got.

And I'm glad I did. While the cheese sauces, one much like huacaina really didn't do much for the dish, I really enjoyed the Ocopa, a thick, mildly cheesy sauce that is usually made with peanuts, onion, aji paste, huacatay (I believe this was in paste form as the herbaceous basil-ish flavor was there, but not crazy strong), and thickened with evaporated milk, cookies, saltines, or in this case animal cookies! I gotta have this the traditional way next time, over potatoes. I really enjoyed the texture of the quinoa cakes more than the flavor which I thought was rather mild. The nice light crunch gave way to a fairly light filling which almost melted away in your mouth.

The upbeat, friendly, and very pregnant front person was a great ambassador for the place, making sure the customers were well taken care of. I'm sure I'll be back, I have to try the anticuchos and causa, right?

Panca Peruvian Cuisine and Rotisserie
1902 South Coast Hwy
Oceanside, CA 92054  

It's been a while week: Latin Chef 6 years later.......

I've been trying to restore my "restaurant mojo" since returning from vacation. After some not very good meals, I wondered how those places that used to be on our rotation was doing these days. So about two weeks ago, I decided to revisit a few that I haven't been to in a while. And so "It's been a while week" is born.

Latin Chef used to be a favorite of the Missus and I, we'd often visit several times a week. I could easily have credited the place with fueling the fire to visit Peru in 2007. It held a prominent place in our rotation at one time. But our enthusiasm eventually waned when the original chef moved back to Peru. And though I've visited a couple of times in 2011 and once early last year, the food on those visits was quite uneven. Part of what was missing for me was the presence of Freddy, the owner, a friendly, gracious, gentleman, who always had time to chat a bit. I'm sure he was around, but never on our visits, and the food seemed to suffer.

Still, the recent warm weather made it seem just right for some cebiche so I headed on over to Latin Chef.

And lo' and behold, who was waving at me from the window but Freddy! I hadn't seen him in at least four years. I had a seat and we caught up on things while I placed my order. While waiting for my food, Freddy sat down and we had a chat. Over the years, the menu had expanded to include Brazilian dishes, which I'd never had. Some folks attribute the uneven food to the addition of that side of the menu. When I asked Freddy about those dishes, he told me that without te Brazilian menu, they would not have survived the last three years. Enough with business....we chatted about how Peru has changed over the couple of years. It seems that everyone there now wants to be a chef! Maybe it's time to start planning another visit, eh? Though I was also told that prices have soared as well.

As Freddy served me my Anticuchos, he had to take leave to head out and shop.

I've always enjoyed the marinated beef heart at Latin Chef and I enjoyed this. Well prepared, with a nice chew but not too tough and rubbery, flavored with a mildly spicy chili-annatto marinade with a hint of acid I thought these were nice.

My cebiche pescado wasn't quite as good. First, no chanchita? That's almost a deal breaker for me as I love those toasted kernels of corn.

As much as I enjoy the bracing flavor of a good cebiche pescado, this was way too sour for me. I wouldn't be slurping up this leche de tigre (the cebiche marinade). The fish was under marinated for my taste, a bit too tough, as if the acid in the leche de tigre didn't have enough time. As for potatoes, it was a plain camote or sweet potato. Sadly, this was a far cry from the "vintage cebiche pescado" of Latin Chef's past:

Perhaps it was an off day. I'll probably be back to (finally) try some of the Brazilian dishes on the menu and maybe the cebiche pescado again. Hopefully, it'll be back to classic form.

Latin Chef
1142 Garnet Ave
San Diego, CA 92109

The Corner of First and Main Part 2: Cafe Secret

Lately I've been noticing that "firsts/appetizers" on menus are often times more interesting than main courses. Like the Blind Burro, I found that to be true at Cafe Secret as well. Cafe Secret is named quite well, though located on Camino del Mar, it's really easy to miss, especially at night.

I hadn't seen my good friends Howie and Jenne in a while and Candice suggested we get together. I believe it was Jenne who picked Cafe Secret. I hadn't had good Peruvian Food in a while, so this was a good choice.

The tiny dining area could be described as either cozy or cramped depending on the foot traffic on the sidewalk that the dining area straddles and the customers.

The staff here was nice enough, though there were forgotten place settings, glasses, and an appetizer that arrived after all the entrees had almost been finished. Still, one can't complain when a dish of canchita (roasted corn kernels), something that I really enjoy.

The night started with drinks; I got a Cristal, and the girls Pisco Sours. Which took me back to the musty bar of a hotel in Lima Centro. It was a nice way to start a meal.

I decided on ordering three appetizers, while the rest of the group went with a cebiche and mains. It would turn out to be a good amount of food for us all.

The first item to appear was the Cebiche Mixto ($17). I believe this was the best dish of the night.

 

I really enjoyed the balance of the leche de tigre, the "marinade" or sauce if you will that is used to flavor the dish. It had a nice balance of sour and briney goodness. It's been a while since I've had cebiche this good. I only wish there was more of it, along with some spoons for scooping up the leche de tigre and canchitas. The lenguado, white fish, was marinated perfectly, too long and it get mushy, too short and it's tough. The calamari also was very tender. I'd gladly have this again.

The Tiradito ($15) was a different story.

There's always a sense of adventure in ordering tiradito, a dish often credited to the Nikkei Perujin, the Japanese who had immigrated or were born in Peru. Every version I've had was different; from the fantastic, full flavored, and wonderful Tiradito en Crema de Rocoto I had at El Fayke Piurano in Central Lima, to the garlic and lemon tones of the Tiradito Alfresco at Alfresco in Miraflores, it can be an interesting ride. This fish in this version was cut thick, almost like a tweener, the thickness of hirazukuri, but at an angle like usuzukuri. I've found that my favorite versions of tiradito are when fish is cut in thin strips, or thin like carpaccio. This was a bit too thick for me. The sauce was almost a weird tropical-asian incarnation, mildly fruity, but with ginger-sesame tones. This isn't my favorite preparation of tiradito, as the flavor just didn't keep me interested.

I also ordered the Shrimp Causa, which seemed a bit over-priced at $15 for what is basically mashed potato.

I will say that I liked the presentation, the shrimp was cooked to perfection, and this was nicely flavored. Rich, but not over-the-top, with a little kick. This was good.

 Candice ordered the Chupe; basically a seafood based chowder. Think of it as being a richer version of Mexican Caldo de Mares, but with less of a acidic-oregano kick. The broth had a nice ocean flavor, tough I would have appreciated a bit more acid and salt. I'm not sure about the rest, but Candice seemed to enjoy it.

Howie ordered the classic Peruvian dish Lomo Saltado ($18).

Made with tenderloin, this was very tender. It just seemed to fall short in flavor. There seemed to be components missing with regards to flavor. It was missing salt, an herbaceous tone, huacatay is often used in Peru, and perhaps some alcohol or vinegar for zing. Overall, very flat in flavor.

Jenne ordered the very unmacho, Macho ($22), basically Pescado a lo Macho.

What I tasted of this dish was pretty bland.

The entrees were almost done and I wondered what happened to the Papas and Yucuitas a la Huacaina($10), so I asked. Without blinking an eye, they told me it was being prepped. Now, this is an appetizer, basically fried potatos and yuca with a cheese sauce.......they could have told me they forgot, but what the heck.

I've had versions of this that were made with a ton of parmesan...making it super salty. This was all the way on the other end of the spectrum, being quite bland. The sauce was a bit too thick and seemed to be getting thicker by the moment. Of course I love yuca in all forms, so I wasn't complaining.

We ended our meal sharing a very well made alfajores ($3):

It was great hanging out, we actually hadn't had a meal together in over a year! There was a ton of catching up to do and I don't think that was fully accomplished, so I think we'll have to di this again soon!

As for Cafe Secret, next time it'll be cebiche, cebiche, cebiche......that's probably worth a revisit on its own.

Cafe Secret
1140 Camino Del Mar
Del Mar, CA 92014

 

 

 

 

COMC - International Edition: Places that didn't make the cut in Madison, Chiang Mai, and Antalya (Turkey)

You may find it difficult to believe that we don't actually post on ALL the places we visit. Usually, if the Missus and I have an upscale dinner in San Diego, I usually don't take photos, unless it's happy hour or has some other interesting tie in. There usually are too many people around and I'm a pretty low-key person.....I don't like attention. And then there are those that just "don't make the cut"...it doesn't mean the place was terrible or anything, it could be that I just never got around to doing a post....of course, if it was a stellar meal, you know I'd have done a post.

So anyway, with a minimum of my blabbing, here's a trio that just never made it until I COMC'd (Cleared Out the Memory Card).

Inka Heritage - Madison Wisconsin:

To my disappointment, I got to Mad-town during restaurant week and Inka Heritage had what amounted to a prix fix menu, so I had to go with what they had.

Ceviche 3 Ajies (3 peppers):

Pescado Inka Heritage:

Sooo much cheese...but heck, this is Wisconsin, right? What should I have expected.

Inka Heritage
602 S Park St
Madison, WI 53774

The Wok Restaurant - Chiang Mai, Thailand:

The dishes looked so lovely, but just didn't deliver.....very bland, somewhat dumbed down. These folks run a cooking school I was thinking of joining....kind of glad I didn't.

The Wok Restaurant
44 Rajmankha Rd,
Chiang Mai 50200 Thailand

Ucyildiz - Antalya, Turkey:

So if MickeyD's, or say ChowKing came to Turkey, I'm thinking this is what the food would look like. Sorta artificial....funny, the photos in the menu looked so lovely.

 We still chuckle when we see the photos....you can't win 'em all.

Anyway, thanks for dropping by and reading....or staring, or whatever it is that you do when it;s mostly just photos!

Revisits to Nazca Grill

After my visit to Panca Peruvian Rotisserie, I made sure to hit up Nazca Grill for a comparison. After uploading my photos, I realized that I've got a bit of a backlog with regards to Nazca Grill, so a post has been a while in coming. I usually include Nazca in round-ups, like the Lomo Saltado comparison.

Over the years the dining furnishings have been upgraded, though the interior is still that dark red tone....

The same gentleman, I believe his name is Wilson, still runs the place. They've been around for over three years now, which is a great sign, though on most of my visits, the restaurant is nearly empty. The prices have gone up, as have most restaurants. My biggest problems with the food as Nazca Grill has been the random inconsistencies encountered.

So I started with something I've enjoyed in the past. The Causa Nazca. A causa is basically a mashed potato "cake/dumpling". Peru is home of the potato, if you ever have the chance to visit, you'll find it in so many shapes and forms, from the delicious and basic papa amarilla the yellow potato, to the chuño a freeze dried tuber that has an interesting texture. The version at Nazca Grill seems similar to the layered Causa Limeña, Lima style Causa. I usually will get the shrimp version.

The causa here used to look like it was cut from a baking pan, but is now presented in a much more attractive circle. It's not over-dressed with mayonnaise, though the aji rocoto sauce is on the bitter side. The shrimp also seemed mushy and watery. This was not quite as good as what I had on previous visits.

On another visit I ordered the Cebiche de Pescado ($12.95).

First off the camote, the sweet potato was really mushy, second the fish had been sitting too long in the "lece de tigre" ("tiger's milk"), the marinating liquid and was getting pretty tough. Third, man, they're using aji rocoto for this, pretty spicy stuff. the length of time marinating made this dish pretty darn spicy overall. I few minutes less "bath time" and this would have been pretty good. Needless to say, there was no drinking of the leche de tigre on this visit.

I did think that the anticuchos I had on a recent visit was every bit as good as the versions I've had at Latin Chef.

Nicely flavored, the beef heart retained a bit of "squeak", but was still tender enough to enjoy. Nice color, probably due to the use achiote and perhaps a few chilies. I wish they'd be a bit more creative with the varieties of potatoes.

I also had a glass of kool-aid, um, Chicha Morada, which I actually enjoyed. For some reason I enjoy the bubble-gum like flavor of Inka Cola, but have never enjoyed Chicha Morada, but maybe things are changing?

Of course the point of this post was the Pollo ala Brasa, the rotisserie chicken. KM at work was wondering how the chicken tasted, so one day I picked some up for us.

Back in 2010 when I did my big chicken comparison, I thought Nazca Grill was "getting better all the time". Flash-forward to fall of 2012 and all I can say is, "the chicken has regressed". This was salty and I'm not sure if they finish it with hardwood anymore. On the other hand, it was nice and moist, but just not anything special, especially for twelve bucks for a half chicken meal.

The Papa Rellena I had a couple of weeks later was pretty good.

 The outside was nice and crisp, the potato below well flavored, as was the filling. The salza criolla added a pungent-tangy-acid component to the dish and helped to cut any saltiness or richness I'd have encountered.

I had tried the tiradito, the Nikkei influenced raw fish dish at Nazca Grill and not really enjoyed it. After all these years, I thought I'd check it out again. Meet the latest version of Nazca's tiradito ($11.95):

 This was totally different from the tiradito I had previously had here, in presentation and taste. Loved the yuca frito....but when don't I love it? Half the plate was flavored with a aji amarilla based marinade, the other half aji rocoto. I preferred the aji amarilla, it was more creamy, and had seemed to work with the lime flavors a lot better.

The aji rocoto sauce seemed very harsh and bitter. I'm wondering if they use Dona Isabel paste for this, as I've found the aji rocoto paste to be rather bitter and harsh when I tried it out recently.

No complaints about the nice, thinly sliced fish. I ended up pouring what canchita (roasted corn kernels) into the aji amarilla side and eating up as much as I could.

 Overall, a mixed bag. Not sure if I'll return anytime soon.....but then again, when it gets warmer and those cebiche pescado cravings return........

Nazca Grill
4310 Genesee Ave
San Diego, CA 92117

Oceanside: Panca Peruvian Rotisserie

You didn't think that I'd drive up to see my buddy JohnL and just grab a poke bowl, right? I needed to make use of John's appetite and ability to pace himself for another stop. I'd heard about a Pollo a la Brasa joint up in Oceanside and wanted to try it out. Now in Lima, it seems you can't even walk a block without running into one of those places. The most popular chain is named Pardo's, which was good, but I happen to love the papas fritas made with papa amarilla, a yellow potato with a flavor similar to yukon gold. Along with the wonderful aji aioli it was good stuff.

Located next to a laundromat on Coast Highway, it's easy to pass the rather small sign for Panca. The design and decor is very much "fast-casual" looking, simple with colors and various paintings....love the photo of Aji Amarillo on one of the walls.

Having John here was a blessing; since in addition to the Pollo ala Brasa, we could try several of the interesting sounding sandwiches.

We started with the Lomito ($7.95), which is basically Lomo Saltado minus the papas fritas on a bun.

The meat is fairly chewy, but not unpleasantly so....this is based on lomo saltado after all. I'd have loved a bit more onions and more tangy tomatoes, but I'm sure the place wants to please the meat eaters. Nice soy flavors, this seemed to missing that wonderful anise-mint flavor delivered from Huacatay, but I'm sure that's hard to get. A bit too much bread for me, but it stood up well to whatever juices came out of the meat. I must say that the Aji sauce was pretty one-dimensional, a bit of heat and not much else.

The "fresh-cut" fries were actually quite nice....good potato flavor. And there was a ton of it.....

As you can see with the Chicharron Sandwich ($6.95) we ordered:

Geeez Louise....do you think that's enough fries??? Luckily, they have a decent potato flavor, even if they don't stay crisp for very long.

Now just the word Chicharron, in the context of Peruvian food makes my mouth water. It brings back memories of a street called Pampas de Castillo in Cusco. This was where all the Chicharronerias were located. During lunch, the restaurants would wheel out the fryers to the sidewalk and start cooking up pork and chicken, the fragrance of swine frying could be caught all the way down to Plaza de Armas!

This version was fairly mild, like a tame pulled pork.

The sweet potato chips at the bottom of the sandwich, I'm sure was there to add some sweetness (which it didn't) and a textural contrast, which it slightly did. I could have done with a bit more of the sarza criolla, the onion relish, which also could have used some aji amarilla for some umph. The pork flavor was decent, but this was a bit dry and the large amount of bread did it no favors. Still, I think this is worth the price........

And finallywe tried the Quarter Chicken ($6.95), which also came with a huge amount of fries.

Now there are a couple of things I need to say first; the chicken was on the small side, but I'm fine with that. In many cases these smaller birds (like they'll use in Peru) have more flavor. Second, from the flavor, I don't think these were roasted over wood, so you can't even compare with Peru, or even LA.

The chicken was very moist, perhaps a bit heavy on the sodium, but with a decent overall flavor. I'm thinking perhaps a bit better than what Nazca Grill serves, who finishes their chicken over wood (or so I've been told), but I've got to get back there again to refresh my tastebuds. It's not something I'd go out of my way for, but I'm glad I tried it.

The service was good, they've got my favorite Peruvian Beer, Cristal, and I'd drop in every once in a while if I lived in the neighborhood. In terms of value, I'd say that it depends on what you order.

Panca Peruvian Rotisserie
1902 South Coast Hwy
Oceanside, CA 92054

Hours:
Tues - Thurs 11am - 9pm
Fri - Sat    11am - 10pm
Sunday       11am - 9pm
Closed on Mondays