docsconz

Ollantaytambo Ollantaytambo is considereed by many to be the purest extant version of an Inca village as, unlike most, Inca communities, it was never fully destroyed by the conquistadores. The main town exists with the grids and stonework of that earlier Inca epic. It is also the site where the post conquest, Inca leader, Manco Inca, took his last valiant stand against the Spaniards. We visited the town mostly for the history, architecture and culture, but it was not without its culinary interest as well. After our ascent and return from the ruins above the town, we walked through the streets of the town observing the ancient organization as the households were divided into blocks called "kanchas" that surrounded central patios. Our guide brought us to one kancha, where we had an opportunity to observe the household and its organization. One are of this kancha had particular interest to those with a culinary curiosity. It was a sort of combined pantry and family altar. The cuy or guinea pigs were kept here and most of them tended to stay near the fire. Like with the alpacas getting to know these critters subsequently created some problems with the ability of No.3 son to enjoy their culinary attributes. No. 2 son and the rest of us were able to overcome that. The rest of the pantry held items typical to the Andean diet. An array of items for culinary use. There were freeze-dried (chuño) and fresh potatoes, quinoa, corn and fava beans. Chuño Blanco. According to Eat Smart in Peru, Dried corn hanging from a rafter. Quinoa grains.

This is my pleasure to do. Thank you, Doddie, for taking the time from doing your excellent blog to share your interest and kind words here. Unfortunately, between doing this and other things i haven't had the time to do more than lurk and read your fascinating blog. ← Doddie beams happily while eagerly awaiting more awesome pictures from Docsconz. ← More are certainly coming as I am only into the second day of a ten day trip! I have to say, that your blog has been fascinating. Korean and Filipino food are two cuisines that I have relatively little familiarity with.

This is my pleasure to do. Thank you, Doddie, for taking the time from doing your excellent blog to share your interest and kind words here. Unfortunately, between doing this and other things i haven't had the time to do more than lurk and read your fascinating blog.

Thank you, Jeff. I am glad that you are. Your posts on Ecuador have helped to stimulate my interest in this part of South America. Some day, I hope to visit that country as well as perhaps a return visit to the many fascinating areas of peru that we missed this go-round.

Somehow, that name evokes Korean Chap Chae , a sort of chop suey. Could there be an Asian, particularly Korean influence on Peruvian cuisine? ← There clearly are strong Asian influences in contemporary Peruvian cuisine with Chinese and Japanese foremost based on large imigration late in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Chinese-Peruvian food is extremely popular all over Peru and served in restaurants called "chifas". Even outside of the chifas, the influence can be seen in basic Peruvian restaurants, especially in dishes such as lomo saltado or sauteed beef loin. Japanese influence is strong as well. For example, along with the native ceviche, "tiradito" is a style of serving and eating raw fish that combines the Peruvian technique of ceviche with Japanese sashimi techniques. As for Korean, I am not aware of any particularly strong influence, though it wouldn't surprise me. Your observation is very interesting though this dish did not have noodles.

I'm sorry, but as a frequent food traveler the results as stated make no sense to me. This is not to say that Florida doesn't have any culinary appeal, but it is most definitely not the first place I think of when deciding on a destination with food in mind. In addition to California, NY, Illinois and Las Vegas are clearly ahead in this regard and a number of other areas like Boston, D.C. and Philly arguably so.

Quinoa is something that I havd had before my visit to Peru, but its ubiquity on menus was quite something. It was also something that I very much enjoyed and didn't shy away from. On the way down from the ruins of Ollantaytambo in the Sacred Valley we came across this field of quinoa ready for harvest. It was located behind the town church. The quinoa field close up. Quinoa stalk even closer.

This makes sense about dieta. That is precisely what got me curious. Thanks.

We had dinner the next two nights at the Restaurant Killa Wasi, which is part of the Hotel Sol y Luna in which we were staying. In each case the dinner was good, though unspectacular. The first night was notable for a few things, however. Being that it was still quite early in our trip, we had a few "firsts" there. My wife and I each had our first Pisco Sour. The drink was certainly tasty enough, but I could not discern a significant flavor difference from the whiskey sours of early adulthood. Nevertheless, we had them several more times on the trip, the best of which was a specialized version that I will describe further when I discuss that meal. The amuse was a kingfish ceviche, the first of the trip. It was tasty, but compared to some later versions, relatively unremarkable. Most of us ordered red meat of one kind or another. While I like my meat rare to medium rare by American standards, we noticed throughout the trip that in Peru, an order of "medium rare" is much more akin to an order of "rare" in the U.S., while "medium" tends to correspond more closely to the U.S. "medium-rare." The standards are closer to what one might find in Europe, which I guess shouldn't really come as a surprise given the huge European (specifically Spanish) influence on the culture. No.1 son and I had our first alpaca steaks - in this case tenderloin. Neither No.2 son nor No.3 son wanted to order the alpaca after having made friends with a few back at Awana Kancha. Alpaca is a very lean meat and this was indeed quite lean. Not being overcooked it was still fairly moist. Unfortunately, though the meat could have used some additional outer charring for a little maillardization and additional umami. There was a noticeable flavor difference to beef, though i cannot say that I found it preferable to beef. The desserts were creative and good. No.3 son ordered "a piano", which was a hazelnut and chocolate cake cut and decorated to resemble a piano. He enjoyed it. I had lucuma for the first time. It came in the form of a mousse in a chocolate "glass." Lucuma is a native fruit used widely in creamy desserts in Peru - especially ice cream. I enjoyed the dessert, but had better examples of lucuma subsequently elsewhere. The Sol y Luna is a marvelous hotel despite its rather unremarkable restaurant. Located a bit outside of Urubamba we did not really have the opportunity to try elsewhere and given the convenience of the restaurant and our general level of tiredness after a full day's schedule it was adequate for the situation.

Thank you! Dieta de pollo is what I was looking for! It isn't really that strange a term, but it is one that I was previously unfamiliar with. Funny, but it didn't seem like "diet soup" - I know, that was baaad. The corn was variable. In certain spots it was quite good, though not revelatory, however, in the market in Cusco (which I will get to later) it was very disappointing.

Chupe, maybe? That's quichua for soup. Or Cazuela? ← Thanks, but that isn't what I am looking for. It was specifically for a chicken noodle type soup. It's a funny word that is either funny when translated into English or funny as an English word with a different meaning. This will drive me crazy!

Our next stop after AwanaKancha was for lunch - our first real foray into Peruvian cuisine. We headed to the town of Pisac, perhaps most well known for its Sunday markets. Unfortunately this was not a Sunday, but Pisac was interesting nevertheless. It is also noted for some significant Incan ruins on the mountain next to the town, which we would tackle, but not until after we re-fueled at lunch. The restaurant was selected for us by our guide. It was an atmospheric place with an upstairs room overlooking the central plaza. We had the room to ourselves. The menu was interesting with all sorts of intriguing choices. (Fortunately, I had some idea of what those choices were having read an excellent book that I would recommend to any aficionado of the culinary arts interested in visiting Peru or just interested in Peruvian food - Eat Smart in Peru: A Travel Guide for Food Lovers by Joan Peterson and Brook Soltvedt. The book provides a rundown of principle culinary options by geographic region, has some photos, a useful menu guide and an equally useful food and flavors guide. At least one of the authors is a member of the eGullet Society (IamAFoodie) and has posted here while doing research for the book.) The kitchen is in the back of the courtyard. The cook of Doña Clorinda. As we sat down at the table a large bowl of corn off the cob was placed on the table for nibbling. The kernels, large and sweet, were an appropriate introduction to the Peruvian table and one aspect of the food that we were particularly curious about having heard my wife's recounting of the legendary corn that she had in Peru when she was there as a student in the early 80's. Also on the table was a salsa to be used as a condiment for whatever dishes one might desire it for. We each selected an appetizer and a main course as well as beverages. I forget to mention earlier that we had tried the much heralded Inka Cola on the airplane to Cusco, but it didn't really appeal to any of us. It was way too sweet for me and my kids didn't really take to the bubble-gum like flavor. My wife and I stuck to either water, pisco sours, tea or wine throughout the trip depending largely on where and when we were dining or other circumstances. The boys generally drank water, hot chocolate, Coke, Sprite or Fanta (a different formulation than either the US or Europe it seemed). Our normally intrepid youngest son preferred to stick with more known elements for his meal as most kids his age would. He started with a chicken soup. It had a strange name that though it should have been more memorable as a result, somehow eludes me. I noticed this name for chicken soup in a number of places, so it wasn't just the restaurant's term. I would appreciate it if anyone can contribute the correct name. No. 2 son, 15, ordered Papas Rellenas, similar to a potato croquette. It consisted of mashed potatoes stuffed with a chopped meat filling reformed into a potato-like shape and fried. This may have been one of the tastiest treats I tried all trip! No. 1 son, 17, had Papas a la Huancaina, sliced boiled potatoes on top of lettuce and smothered in a cold yellow cheese sauce. The sauce, of course, had many other ingredients besides cheese, including lime juice, evaporated milk, aji pepper and other things that were blended to a very creamy state. The dish was garnished with black olives. Once again, this was quite tasty. My wife refrained from an appetizer and just ordered a main. I ordered a stuffed avocado. This was good, but I much preferred both of the potato dishes. No. 3 son stayed conservative for his main ordering pasta with a tomato sauce. No. 2 son had the Lomo Saltado, one of the most well known of Peruvian fusion dishes. This consisted of beef tenderloin and french fried potatoes sauteed with vegetables and a rich sauce. This dish too was very tasty. It was subsequently available on a number of menus throughout the trip. We never did order it again except at one place as part of a sandwich, but only because there were always too many other interesting dishes to try. This is one dish though that I wish I had more of. No. 1 son had Rocotos Rellenos, large peppers stuffed with a mixture of chopped meat, olives and other spices and fried. Similar to chiles rellenos from the Mexican kitchen, these had a more European and particularly Spanish sense to them with the inclusion of the olives into the stuffing. They were simply delicious and thankfully we did have the opportunity to try several versions of these during the trip. I had Kapche with Mushrooms. Kapche is considered a soup, though it is so thick it seemed more like a porridge to me. It was made from fava beans, eggs, potatoes, queso fresco amongst other ingredients and seasonings. This version had fresh mushrooms in it. It wass hearty and delicious. My wife had Ajiaco con Tarwi. Tarwi, a leguminous plant otherwise known as lupine, was one of the more interesting and unusual ingredients that we came in contact with. Ajiaco is another thick, stew-like dish made with a base of potatoes and, in this case, tarwi, as well as onions, cheese, garlic and aji peppers. This too was hearty and tasty. Our fuel tanks filled with fine fuel, we unfortunately did not have time for dessert as it was getting late and we still needed to climb up to the ruins.

Peru actually happens to be a fairly big tea producing country including teas traditional to Asia as well as a number of different herbal teas. I did not try any of their black teas, but in addition to the coca tea, I really enjoyed tea made from Andean mint, a thyme-like plant native to the high Andes.

I prefer goat's milk to cow's but the price gets old fast. I would have it fairly frequently if it were less expensive. I particularly like it with cereal. It is also great to make cajeta, the Mexican dulce de leche or caramelized milk.

We arrived in Lima, Peru after midnight when our flight from Newark was delayed over an hour, but we were lucky to arrive at all as we left more or less on schedule on the 15th of February the day after the great valentine's day snowstorm of the northeast. Our house had been dumped on by almost three feet of snow. While we did have trouble getting down our drive way, fortunately the highways were clear and we managed to make it to Newark on schedule. We arrived at our hotel tired and miserable only to have to turn around early that morning to head back to the airport for our flight to Cusco. Luckily, I managed to have a decent breakfast of a mushroom omelet at the hotel. As a whole throughout the trip we had good breakfasts at the hotels. While they had eggs, scrambled or to order, bacon, sausage and other typical fare, they also had elements unusual for us such as fresh papaya juice, local charcuteries, breads and something that I really developed a liking for - quinoa cereals. These were typically crunchy pellets that went particularly well with yoghurt. I also enjoyed the amaranth cereals too. While I have had cereals in the US with either or both components, none have matched those I had in Peru. I will have to keep a particular lookout for them. Another frequent accompaniment for me at breakfast, especially in the higher elevations, was coca tea, usually from free, dried leaves, but occasionally from a tea bag. Our first experience with coca tea was in the Sacred Valley at a place that we stopped at on our way out of Cusco to our hotel, the Sol y Luna in Urubamba. The place was a llama/alpaca/guanaco/vicuna ranch cum cultural center cum textile shop called Awana Kancha. Not being particularly well rested and already feeling some altitude effects, I rejoiced when I saw a refreshment stand and was particularly intrigued when they had coca leaves for tea. I leaped at the opportunity to try it. It was quite good with an herbal somewhat sweet flavor. My wife had a cup and though the boys tasted it they generally preferred hot cocoa to the hot coca. First cup of coca tea. Loose coca leaves for tea at The Hotel Sol y Luna breakfast buffet.

Unfortunately we had very little time in Lima during our trip and so could only sample a small fraction of the delights it has to offer. La Rosa Nautica is indeed in a beautiful spot, though I have heard from Peruvians and others that it has perhaps become a little too content to rest on its laurels. Because of that and a desire to visit some other places, we did not choose to dine there in our limited time. In an ideal world...

When I travel, gastrotourism is always a major factor in choosing my destinations, but sad to say not the only one. I also love history, culture and great scenery. Happily for me and my family, Peru is a destination that combines all of those interests. Indeed, it is largely the combination of the latter factors that makes it a great destination for gastrotourism as well. The wide variation in topography, elevation and climate allows for unparalleled variety of food materials for a country its size. Peru’s history from the pre-Columbian agricultural mastery of the Incas and before to the confluence of cultures in Colonial and post-Colonial days provided a pantry that includes a wide diversity of ingredients and techniques from across the globe that made Peru one of the world’s great melting pots and is readily apparent in its cuisine today. That confluence of components also happen to make Peru a great destination for a family trip and one of a few of a dwindling number of destinations in the world where the dollar is still relatively strong and bargains can be had. While the myriad of cultural, scenic and historical elements were all of great interest to me, for purposes of this topic I will focus primarily on the culinary aspects of the trip unless some of those other elements are directly pertinent to that. As this was a family trip that included my wife and three sons ages 17, 15 and 7, I will also attempt to provide some of their perspectives of our shared culinary adventures. As time has been and continues to be very tight for me at the moment, I will post on this sporadically over the next week or two so please be patient. Of course, I welcome any comments, questions, insights, experience or discussion you might care to post.

If it's a little more traditional you're after then Abac would definitely fit the bill. Ate there the night before a trip to El Bulli a couple of years back and it was the perfect counterpoint. They pretty changed half the tasting menu for us - nothing was too much trouble. And the suckling pig was something else. The tasting (7-8 courses, if I remember) might nudge above 75 euro, though. ← I'll second the suckling pig at Abac - awesome! Not to confuse you, but another restaurant to throw into the mix is Gaig, for original takes on traditional catalan cuisine. Carles Gaig's cannelons are simply delicious.

Ted, how about some more details and a link if it is online? Please! ← 'doc... No linkage that has the interview. I think Vogue, since it is so heavy on designer/Fashion adverts, keeps a kind of low flying online vibe. Jennifer Hudson is on the cover, March Sping fashion issue 4 .95 I think, worth picking up. Details.... Steingarten tells the tale of having always wanting to have a private chef, doing a story about them ( I think) around two years ago. It had come up again and a friend of his suggested Paul for the gig. As everyone who follows Liebrandts travels knows, between Papillon and Gilt Liebrandt had some heavy gigs cooking for various people like Rothchilds and royalties so he had the background. Steingarten is also a fan and ate at nearly every place Paul has cheffed and was a big fan of his cooking, although it appears they had never met previously. I don't want to say too much more, pick Vogue up, March issue and enjoy the read, you won't be sorry. You really get a sense of how much Liebrandt loves to cook, period, as well as, to me at least, his sense of humility and eagerness and confidence to please his clients and food fans. Also, two more things or so. Paul's plates look really good and something I had just gotten hip to, The Ducasse Spoon book (ltd version) either really influenced him ( look at his website film of prep and service at GILT, baby spinach leaves on a solelike fish?) or Gagnaire really influenced Ducasse ( more likely perhaps, no diss intended, during this peroid) and Gagnaires colors and starkness are reflected in many of Leibrandts plates, IMO. I also think that hanging "Molecular Gastronomies" success in NYC on Pl's shoulders is kind of unnecessary, as unnecessary as saying he's ever had a failure. Most restaurants in NYC and other cities, mine included, were victims of the economic blowback of 9/11. Opening a restaurant is harder then that, especially over the first year, if there is ANY kind of blip at all and often if there is, it's a case of financial over projections and expectations of the owners which is rarely any fun. The bean counters blow in and all of a sudden what you had considered as "getting f#$%*ed with" becomes childs play compared to this next level. I'm going thru that now, and not even as an executive chef and it's still very painful. So maybe it's not a great idea to call anything a failure or to make anyone have to be "the savior" of any cuisine, except maybe dessert cuisine Lastly, since Vogue is a fashion mag, Chef Liebrandt is pictured in an awesome Paul Smith suit, (I used to walk by the Paul Smith store on 5th, close to Mesa Grill & drool all of the time when I lived in NYC.) as well as his whites as usual. ← Thanks, Ted. I did manage to come across the article thanks to some friends from here. I agree that the article is a good one. I also think that your point about 9/11 having an effect on the NYC food world especially creative cooking is a good one. The NYC culinary scene is much more conservative than it was pre-911. I think that this is due to many factors. People after a trauma such as that tend to prefer "safe" things and food is no exception. They want comfort. Creativity , especially in an area like cuisine tends to flourish in times of exuberance. That is one reason why it has flourished in Spain, as the country has rediscovered its myriad array of cultures after the demise of the homogenized Franco era. The same was true for 1990's NYC, basking in the boom of Wall Street. It was than that restaurants like Papillon, Bouley and Union pacific were at their prime and chefs like Dufresne, Mason and Liebrandt cut their chops.

Well, I don't know why she chose or offered what she did, but for a lot of reasons it would be wrong of me with this lady to say that I'd prefer to go to Jean Georges when that wasn't offered. (If that had been one of the offers, I'd have taken it!) I just know with this friend that among the choices she has offered, I absolutely don't have to pick the cheapest one of them. But I think I'd be really rude to ask for Jean Georges when she didn't include it. ← Fair enough.

We had a fantastic lunch at L'Astrance with our then 6yo who loved it. Unless your younger one is unusually well-behaved for the age, I'm not sure how comfortable you would be though. In any event, wherever you choose, if it is an elegant restaurant I would suggest go very early or very late when it is less busy.

If finances are not an issue here, why Nougatine as opposed to Jean-Georges? I would certainly recommend the latter for either choice that you have.

While there are no guarantees, I would suggest contacting them by email to let them know of your plight and hopes for rectifying it. If there is a way for them to accomodate you, I expect they will.

Ted, how about some more details and a link if it is online? Please!

I think the answer may be just that it is so new that it simply hasn't caught on yet. For the reasons you stated as well as Ferran Adria's excitement with the product, I expect that we will be seeing this used much more in the very near future. I would be very surprised if it is not featured in this year's elBulli offerings.