Good eats

Lima is home to two of the world's 50 best restaurants: Central (#15), and Astrid y Gastón (#18). Naturally, these places are quite expensive, but compared to a top-50 restaurant in the States or Europe they are in fact dirt-cheap. Some friends and I decided we needed to take advantage of these culinary opportunities, and that some fine dining would be an excellent way to celebrate finishing two years of Peace Corps - best. decision. ever.

First: dinner at Central. Steve and I enjoyed a delicious three-course meal, whose highlights were a hot ceviche appetizer and a goat cheese-chocolate mousse-crystallized carrot sugar dessert. The restaurant itself was incredibly normal in appearance, with a fairly small dining room, but it was cool to see into the open kitchen and watch head chef Virgilio Martínez in action.

Steve excited about ceviche caliente

The crazy dessert, which was for some reason served with dry ice alongside

Second: the 29-course tasting menu "experience" at Astrid y Gastón. This was one of the most incredible things I have done in Peru, or possibly in all my travels, and something I will likely never repeat (because it would cost beaucoup de $$ anywhere else). Head chef Gastón Acurio is right in describing this production not as a meal, but as an experience: the setting of a beautiful restored colonial mansion, the impeccable service of a full-on army of waitstaff and their never-ending flatware, the artistic presentation of each and every dish, and the food itself where literally every bite was a fancy and creative piece of perfection. It was awe-inspiring, and it was delicious. Below is a sampling of some favorite dishes…

"Roots and herbs" - paper-thin crackers made with herbs and served in an actual tree branch

"Huatia" - a traditional Andean way of cooking potatoes and meat is to bury the food and fire underground. A&G recreated this by cooking these potatoes in an adobe brick, then served with various sauces including alpaca peanut, wild mushroom, and multiple different cheese-herb ones

"Trout, chirimoya, duck" - pretty self-explanatory name, but a surprising and amazing combination of flavors

"Coins" - various flavors of chocolate coins, dusted with sparkling gold; the best one was a milk chocolate-quinua one

Dinner crew: Emily, Lindsay, Chris, me

But as good as top-50 restaurants are, regular old Peruvian food is pretty darn tasty too. Consequently my last meal in Peru was one of the classic favorites I'll miss the most: ceviche and chicharrones (fried fish/shellfish).