As Chile celebrated Dieciocho, Tony and I skipped town for a week in Peru with our friends, Ian and Stella, and their two girls. But first things first, we had to welcome our latest house sitters, Kathy and Leigh, with our customary pisco sour toast at our favorite restaurant, Tiramisu.
During our trip, these lovely Aussies sent several updates with photos of Ella, who clearly didn’t lack for attention.
For our first stop in Peru, we landed in Lima and stayed at a nice little Airbnb in the Miraflores district. A friend from our New Delhi days, Alicia, recently moved here to work at the The American School of Lima, so we basically spent 24 hours eating with Alicia and seeing nothing else of the city. For our first meal, we enjoyed delicious traditional Peruvian fare at Panchita.
The next morning, Tony and I found a local café for a light breakfast and then walked to Alicia’s incredible apartment. The vibrant Miraflores neighborhood sits on a cliff that overlooks the Pacific Ocean, so the walk featured stunning scenery. The district’s quaint streets were lined with restaurants, cafés, pubs, and shops. We paused to join spectators at a small skateboard/dirt bike park for a few minutes, and then strolled along the cliffside promenade.
At Alicia’s 10th-floor apartment, I couldn’t get over the view! Alas, we had to leave. Gluttony awaited at one of the world’s top-ranked restaurants, Astrid & Gaston.
According to the restaurant’s website:
Our story began in 1994. Upon finishing their culinary studies in Paris, Gastón Acurio and Astrid Gutsche founded their eponymous restaurant in a small house in the district of Miraflores. At first, the restaurant was quite French, as it was dictated by the global trend. Over time, it became decidedly Peruvian. We embraced our culture and flavors, experimenting with local ingredients and recipes with one goal in mind, to promote our cuisine around the world.
In 2014, on our 20th anniversary, we left Cantuarias Street to start a new project: to settle in Casa Moreyra, the 17th century San Isidro estate. Today, Gastón and Astrid, together with a young team of chefs, are in constant search of new flavors and ideas to offer.
We opted for the 15-course tasting menu, and Alicia and I added the wine pairings. This was the menu. Eeek!
With my recent (and unfortunately timed) adoption of vegetarianism, Alicia’s aversion to seafood and other slimy things, and Tony’s disdain for vegetables, we created some challenges for the chef. Somehow, it all worked. The servings were small but packed with deliciousness. Some of the presentations were a bit cheesy, like the first one, “an indecent bed,” which came on a sculptural plate shaped like a bed, but I had no complaints. Almost five hours later, we were comfortably full, a bit tipsy, and feeling giddy.
Back in Alicia’s neighborhood, we walked along the promenade. She hadn’t yet ventured down to the water since moving to Lima, and I certainly couldn’t NOT touch the ocean. We walked down a lot of steps and crossed the road on a pedestrian bridge to reach the rocky beach.
One perk of international teaching for so long is we know people practically everywhere, and reunions are always special. Thanks for hanging out with us, Alicia!
