Riquísimo

The Peru trip has been over for well over a month now, but I am still loving all the food we had down there. Latin America really reigns supreme as far as food is concerned. I tried to grab some pictures of everything we ate and have saved them for last.

Desayuno - our breakfast usually consisted of hot chocolate or fake coffee (like postum) with some bread and jam.

Pan - bread. We ate lots and lots of bread. In fact we found a city that pretty just makes a ton of bread everyday. It was good.



Choclo con queso - corn on the cob with huuuuuge kernels of corn and served with cheese. Nice snack.

Pollo a la brasa - rotisserie chicken. Definitely the favorite of the trip. We found a great restaurant in Cuzco that served it with great potato salad. I tried to get the recipe, but the waiter told me it was a secret. If we had a waitress I bet I would have gotten it.

Cordero - roasted lamb. Pretty good. Served with a stuffed pepper and potatoes and vegetables. Too much food, but I finished it earning lunch MVP yet again. Funny side story. At this restaurant some Peruvian women from Trujillo approached us and asked to take their picture with us. I think it was mostly for Jonny and his blond hair, but I'd like to think some of it was for me too.

Cuy - guinea pig. Yep guinea pig. A Peruvian speciality. The took a whole one and split it into thirds for me, Stephen, and Jonny (can you believe that Chris sat this one out?). They split the head and me and Jonny each got a part of it (SCORE!). They have a surprisingly thick skin, but otherwise aren't bad. The presentation could use some work though. I mean all sprawled out there with his legs up in the air...not super appetizing. The noodles that they served with them were really good.

Papas a la huancaina - huancaina potatos. Potatos with delicious yellow sauce. That sauce has a surprising amount of different things in it (like crackers and peanuts), but they are all delicious. Very satisfying and filling starter.

Arroz con pollo - Rice and chicken. It may sound like just rice and chicken, but it is seasoned exceptionally well (mostly with cilantro). Really, really good. In Argentina they make it with saffron. Both ways are acceptable to me.

Lomo saltado - salted beef. Delicious almost stir fry like dish. If you look closely at my plate you will notice more pollo a la brasa. We went back to the same place and lived the dream of more chicken with added beef. It was pretty cool.

Juanes - johns? Don't really know how to translate that exactly. This is a jungle dish. Imagine fried rice except it is served to you in a huge leaf and you have juanes. Pretty good.

Aji a la gallina - literally means chickened pepper. Had this at a fancy place in Lima. Really good even if it doesn't look like much. Like most of Latin America (at least the parts I have visited) you can tell that Peruvians like to add eggs to just about everything. No complaints here, but why stop there? Why not add bacon too?

Postres - desserts. At the fancy restaurant we ordered a lot of desserts including picarones (like donuts), flan, mazamorra morada (sweetened corn pudding thing with fruit), and a dulce de leche pudding. You can also notice our chicha (corn) drink. My favorite was the dulce de leche pudding, but I could probably down at least a half dozen picarones at any given time.

Seriously after Machu Picchu, the food in Peru may be my favorite thing I experienced. It may actually edge out the jungle. It is definitely probably the biggest reason I would ever go back to Peru.

After all this we finally did come home. They showed us "Speed Racer" on the way back so the adventure wasn't totally over until we landed in Seattle.

So that is it for Peru. It was great. Better than I even expected. I highly recommend it though you may not have as much fun if you don't go with Chris, Jonny, or Stephen. Gracias a ellos por una experiencia inolvidable. Gracias también al abuelo por todo. Y gracias al Peru.