CAMINA EL AUTOR: Juancho's travels in Peru: Embarcadero 41

Friday, July 30, 2010

Embarcadero 41

Yesterday was a holiday so we took advantage of that to have a lunch gathering of the cousins. At my cousin Mariana's suggestion we met at Embarcadero 41, a seafood restaurant in Surco. We had a nice time chatting and joking, which we hadn't all had a chance to do at the wedding last weekend nor on the 28th when we had met for drinks at Mama Batata's, a club in Miraflores.

It was kind of funny when Erin, a guest of Sara's, commented that "it seems that if we aren't shopping, we're eating". She concluded that that was fine however as the food in Lima is "great". We all agreed that if one likes seafood, Peru is the place to come, and that the variety and freshness of the seafood here sure beats the "clams and salmon, and maybe a halibut," combo that is the staple of US seafood cuisine.

The food at Embarcadero 41 was no exception, although it did seem that in their ambition to provide variety the cooks hadn't really mastered all their dishes. The cebiches and tiraditos were right on the ball, as were the rice-based dishes and causas. The soups and stews seemed like an afterthought, relegated to the back of the menu. This was confirmed by the shrimp stew, chupe de camarones, which Liz ordered and which all declared good but a bit plain, and no standout.

Another dish that received mixed reviews was the grilled octopus that Liz, Carla, and I ordered to share. Many of our party liked it, but the three of us thought that it delivered rather less than it promised; that it was well marinated, in terms of tenderness, but it lacked somewhat in flavor. That simply slapping some anticucho sauce on it at grilling time was uninspired. Maybe our standards have been raised a bit higher.

The whole fried fish, on the other hand, -in this case, cabrilla, prepared "Nikkei" style- was a hit. The vegetables were crisp and fresh, and the sauce sweet without being cloying.