Eating Gluten-Free in Lima, Peru

 

A few years back I did a post on dining gluten-free in Peru, particularly in Lima. (Read it HERE) 

Today, the same recommendations I made then still apply.   Happily, however, the situation is improving quite a bit. 

There is now a small chain of grocery stores, Flora y Fauna, that has many gluten-free offerings - breads, cereals, pastas, pastries, and other items.  Many of the products they carry are also dairy-free, organic, or vegan.

 

In general supermakets, it is now harder to find gluten-free items, even though they are still somewhat available, because most seem to have done away with dedicated gluten-free and "healthy" shelving, and just mixed those products into similar categories. 

The bigger food companies comply with EU labeling standards and so are pretty good at listing allergens and shared equipment. 

Previously I had stated that Braedt charcuterie was gluten-free, but I have inquired again and this time got the response that they could not assure that their products were gluten-free.  However, there is now a line of good quality charcuterie available in supermarkets from the Casa Europa brand which are almost all labeled as gluten-free.

Dining out has become a bit easier.  Servers and cooks seem more aware of allergens and are clearer on whether they can accommodate special needs.  Their suggestions aren't always the most creative, but they make an effort.

We did find two places that make gluten-free dining fairly easy.

One is Limaná restaurant, in San Isidro.  Almost all of their menu is gluten-free, including gyozas, desserts and pastries, and the staff is knowledgeable and very friendly.  We've dined there a few times, and had good meals every time.  The prices a bit high, specially for the portion size (compared to many other Peruvian eateries) but the ability to just relax and have multiple gluten-free offerings  makes up for that.

 

Some of the gluten-free offerings at Limaná

Another spot is Armónica Café in Miraflores.  Most of their menu is not gluten-free, but they have a selection of gluten-free pastries, including alfajores, truffles, cookies, brownies, and more, and good coffee to go with them.

Armónica Café

 

Armónica is located on Avenida La Mar, which is a center for dining, with many well-known restaurants nearby, so it is a good option for an after-meal coffee and dessert.

Speaking of which, Armónica Café is walking distance from Pescados Capitales, where one can not only enjoy good cebiches (all naturally gluten-free) and excellent pisco sours, but also, we have discovered, a tasty gluten-free dish of grilled paiche (also known as "arapaima" outside of Peru).  The dish is called "Lujuria" on the menu.

 

 

Another recent discovery is the Rinconcito de Tiabaya restaurant in Surquillo.   The place is set up as a traditional picantería and serves the cuisine of the southern region of Arequipa.  It is not a gluten-free space but it has many dishes that are gluten-free just because the ingredients are such.  These will be basically fried meat cuts accompanied with salad and potatoes, and few othe dishes as well.  We were assured that the fryer is dedicated and only meats go into it so there is no cross-contamination, and the staff were very attentive to our needs.

 

The ability to order a full meal (portions are big), enjoy tasty traditional foods, have multiple options, and not have to leave something off or do without some part of it was nice.  

   

Huaca Pucllana

One evening in Lima my sisters, a couple of cousins, and I went out to dinner at La Huaca Pucllana.

La Huaca Pucllana is a restaurant in Lima's Miraflores district, which overlooks the pre-Inca adobe structure for which the restaurant is named.

 I had been there previously, many years ago, but had not then had the opportunity to dine outside, on the patio, overlooking the huaca itself. 

The huaca Pucllana (also known in older references as the huaca Juliana) is the remains of a 1,500-year old temple complex of the Lima culture, which flourished in the area for centuries before the Yschma,Wari, and later the Incas, left their mark.

It is amazing that such a structure still survives in the midst of a modern city of nearly 11 million inhabitants.  I the early 20th Century, in fact, part of the huaca was destroyed as a brick manufacturer mined it for the clay in its adobe bricks.  Another section was demolished to make room for surrounding streets.

The first exploratory archaeological digs took place at the huaca in 1967. Finally, in 1981 sustained systematic archaeological work was begun, and in 1984 a site museum and "historic-cultural park" were established.  The 37-acre site includes the 75-foot pyramid proper, and a surrounding ceremonial/administrative sector of smaller, interconnected, buildings and courtyards.

 

 

 

 

 Archaeological investigations have revealed that the site likely began as a temple to a sea divinity of the culture we have come to call Lima, in about 500 CE.   From about 800 CE the Wari people used it as a cemetery for their local elites.  After the collapse of Wari civilization in the 12th Century the site temples appear to have fallen into disrepair for some centuries. At various times, until the Spanish rolled into town, the Yschma villagers to repair or shore up portions of the huaca, particularly on the western side, facing the sea --an echo through the centuries of the site's original purpose.

BarBarian (Lima, Peru)

Lima's newest addition to the growing Peruvian craft beer scene is Cerveceria Barbarian's taproom in Miraflores: BarBarian.

Located half a block from Miraflores' main park, on Calle Bonilla, BarBarian taproom has been open only since March, and already it is a popular, standing-room-only, joint late into a Friday night.  It has a friendly, open atmosphere, and the back portion is dominated by a colorful mural and a wall display of several hundred beer bottles collected over seven years by the owners.

The twety-three taps offer a mix of Barbarian's own brews and guest beers from other Peruvian craft brewers such as Nuevo Mundo, La Magdalena, Cumbres, and Sierra Andina.  All are available in 100-ml tasters, or in 200-ml and 400-ml pours.  

In addition, there is a selection of bottled Peruvian craft and import beers available for consumption on the spot or to go (currently at a 30% discount relative to the in-house price!).

There is also a kitchen, offering burgers, chicken wings, and other pub-type fare, making  this a good place for lunch, dinner, or a late night snack, washed down with quality beer.

Jacho and I had already had dinner at La Costanera 700, also in Miraflores, so we didn't eat at BarBarian -other than the complimentary cancha- but we did each enjoy some rather tasty brews!

Lima Craft Beer: Nuevo Mundo brewery and draft bar

 Two weeks ago, while trying to locate a craft brewery that I had an invitation to tour, I injured my knee and so, even once I had the correct address, I was forced to take a pass on the invitation.  Then, a few days later, I had to skip another brewery tour and guest list-only soft opening of their tap room.

Last Friday, I was finally well enough that I felt able to take on the tour, and so I got myself and Juancho on the guest list for it.   The young woman signing us in was somewhat incredulous that there were two of us with the same name and surname, until she saw our IDs!

The brewery was Nuevo Mundo, in Surquillo.

Their facilities are small, producing only 75 barrels a month, but they are expanding into a building that is being constructed next door, on the same property, that will allow them to install larger kettles and fermenters.

The brewery was started by a couple of Frenchmen, one of whom, Alain -originally from Alsace- gave us the tour and explained the brewing process, ingredients, and different beer styles.  No small feat, considering that most Peruvians have not had exposure to many styles of beer and brewing terminology.

Unfortunately, it hasn't been easy for small brewers to break into the beer market, although Cereveceria Barbarian, has done a lot to pave the way by getting its products into several major grocery store chains - Metro, Wong, and Plaza Vea.  Most access to craft beers is through a few restaurants and by directly ordering from the brewery.

Nuevo Mundo does have a small bottle shop and bar at the brewery where one can buy bottles --or cases!-- of brew, or put down a few draughts of their selection of British and Belgian-style ales.  However, they are hoping to expand their exposure and sales volume through their new Nuevo Mundo Draft Bar located in an upstairs space right across the street from the mian park in Miraflores, on busy and touristy Avenida Larco.

Miraflores city hall hasn't come back with the final permit approvals, so Nuevo Mundo has been carrying out an extended soft-opening of the Draft Bar for invited guests.   As part of our tour event we had entry to that evening's session, for which Nuevo Mundo had secured a number of guest beers --including a yummy sour ale with sauco from the Cerverceria del Valle Sagrado, in Cusco-- and rolled out a brand new special offering of their own, an imperial India pale ale (about 8% ABV).  We also got the opportunity to compare the bottle and draft versions of their Barihuait barley wine (which I like a lot!).

The space is nice and well-appointed, and the staff is quite nice.  I hope the bar does well for the brewery.

I think it will.


Nuevo Mundo brewery
1227 Prolongacion San Lorenzo
Surquillo - Lima

Nuevo Mundo Draft Bar
Av. Larco 421 (upstairs)
Miraflores - Lima

Tarata Street

Strolling through Miraflores last week, Liz and I stumbled across Tarata Street, which I had known about but had never visited.

Before 1992, Tarata was just a quiet Miraflores side street -much as it is today- but on the night of July 16, 1992 - 23 years ago today, in fact- a powerful Shining Path car bomb exploded there.

There were one or two reports at the time (which I cannot find now) that indicated that the carbomb was actually intended for the banks on the main avenue a block away, but the car collided with a pickup truck at the intersection where the monument now stands and was abandoned minutes before it exploded.  

Those reports were buried or swept aside by the horrendous toll: 183 homes, 400 businesses, and 63 automobiles were either damaged or destroyed, and 25 people were killed and another 155 wounded that night.

People connected with the Shining Path have a t various points corroborated those initial reports that the bomb was not targeted at the civilian population, that it was intended for the banks, that it was a mistake, that the charge was too large.  However, it is hard to see how that one short block would have made any difference given the size of the charge used.  The shockwave would have still travelled down the canyon formed by Tarata's buildings and blown in very window, showering residents with flying shards of glass and other debris.  Either way, it is of little comfort to those who were hurt or lost loved ones.

Lunch at Ámaz restaurant

Last week, just before Liz headed back to the US, we took ourselves out for lunch in Miraflores.  Wanting something a bit special and something on the lighter side, Liz picked ámaZ as our spot. 

We found, by the way, that Monday afternoon is not a bad time to go out, as we were able to be seated immediately without having a reservation.

ámaZ offers appetizers, but also offers many of its dishes in half-portions, so we opted for sharing a mix of dishes.  We have both enjoyed ámaZ's fare in the past, so we knew that we would not be disappointed.  Additionally, we knew from the menu and the attention to detail that there would not be a problem accomodating Liz's dietary restrictions (no gluten).  As it turns out, at ámaZ no grain flours are used, and only a few of the dishes contain soy sauce or hoisin, so almost the entire menu was wide open to us!

Cebiche ámaZ - made with fish and bananas

Los maduros de Doña Eli - plantain cups, with onion and smoked pork relish.
These were so good that after ordering a half portion, we ordered this full portion as well.

Avispa juane - rice and pork, cooked in  bijao leaves

Seafood and vegetable sautee

Charapa hot peppers and cocona fruit salsa

Helado de cecina - ice cream flavored with smoked peccary meat, with a dark beer reduction, Maras salt, and a sapote granita

Jungle fruit sorbets - capirrosa (pink), cocona (yellow), and copoazu (white).

The copoazu sorbet was a revelation.  Being related to cacao, its sorbet did have a hint of chocolate flavour at the very end of each mouthful, but to get to it one had to traverse a mix of sweet, not-so-sweet, paint, and other oddly familiar -but none unpleasant- flavours.  It was weird, but good, and so much of both that one wanted just a bit more, and just a bit more...

It was a great last lunch together before our few weeks apart, and the fare being so flavourful but light, neither of us was too full to walk for a bit.

We headed toward Parque Kennedy, where we had some coffee at an outdoor cafe before heading home.

Lunch at Central

 

Last week, Liz and I had the opportunity to lunch at Central restaurant, here in Lima's Miraflores district.

Central has been one of the up-and-coming star restaurants on the Lima food scene, and we had been curious about it for some time as it kept getting consistently good reviews.   It also happened that at about the time we made our reservation a month ago, Central was ranked in fourth place among the world's 50 best restaurants on the 2015 edition of the prestigious San Pellegrino World's 50 Best list, and No.1 among Latin America's 50 Best Restaurants. 

Liz and I opted for experiencing what Central has become best known for, which is their 17-course Mater Alturas tasting menu.

The ingredients for each course of the Mater Alturas menu (as well as of the smaller Mater Ecosistemas menu) are sourced at specific elevations in Peru, ranging from 70 feet under the sea to almost 14,000 feet up in the Andes. Those ingredients are put together in ways that don't resemble any typical Peruvian foods, but are innovative and, actually, quite tasty ... and beautiful.

Here are some of them, in no particular order:

Seafood crisp with seafood cream and seaweed.

Corn several ways (and in several varieties): paste, crisp, and soup.

Cauliflower with crisps and flowers.

Herb bread served over smoking coca leaves.

Razor clams with pepino melon and citrus.

Ayrampo and pommegranate extract.

Doncella (an Amazonian fish) with nut cream and jungle fruit.

Octopus, sea snail, and octopus ink foam.

An intense octopus broth.

Calf steak covered in quinua colored with herbs and cactus, with an Andean herb-infused cream.

Chocolate ice cream with flakes of lucuma and chaco, an edible clay.

Fruit sorbet, with ayrampo-tinted fruits chunks.

Cacao fruit extract in reverse-osmosis water, with kiwicha jellies.

Chicken with a hollandaise sauce and moraya pearls and cushuro.  Moraya is an Andean tuber and cushuro is a sort of cyanobacterial colony that forms small green balls in the wet ground around high Andean lakes.

From top to bottom: ayrampo crisp, avocado cream, algarrobina cream.

Besides the quality and innovation in the preparations, one detail that was impressive was that in many instances it wasn't just the dishes for one course that hit our table but actually the regular dish and one or more glutten-free or dairy-free dishes for Liz whenever the regular dish contained gluten or dairy.  In effect, we were each served a similar but still different 17-course menu!

Central

Santa Isabel 376

Miraflores, Lima

Peru

centralrestaurante.com.pe

El Popular

On the 30th of Dec., wanting to go out, and to satisfy Liz's desire to spend some more time by the sea, we sought out somewhere to head to in the evening along the coastline.

One of our usual spots, Cala restaurant and bar, was out due to roadwork along the Costa Verde's seafront road, and Barranco seemed too far to go, so we headed toward the Larcomar mall, where we knew there were several restaurants overlooking the cliffs along the Costa Verde and the beaches below.

Along with Jacho, Jose and Carla --and later joined by Mito--, we sought out a new place that one of Jacho's friends has recommended: Popular.

As it turned out, his friend had attended a private event there, and we happened not only to arrive at the start of their soft opening but we were their very first customers ever!

Because of the soft opening, the restaurant and bar were not yet fully stocked nor all the way in gear, so the menu was limited but in compensation all cocktails were just s/. 5 each!

We ordered appetizers of octopus in olive sauce and crab cakes, followed by their version of lomo saltado.

It was clear that the kitchen and wait staff were not yet fully up to snuff.  Even though the restaurant was pretty empty the food took a while to arrive --but that gave us guys time to have several pisco sours  apiece (which were quite good, actually).

The staff was quite interested in our feedback and, as requested, we were happy to oblige.  

The octopus --not exactly a throwaway of a dish, but one that is done so well by so many in Lima that if it were at all chewy or tough it would not speak well for the kitchen-- was great, and the arugula salad that came with it was a great touch.  Arugula is not much used in Peru, but its sharpness made a great contrast to the richness of the olive sauce.

The crab cakes were underseasoned although basically alright.   They should have been the star of the plate, but instead it was the salad  of baby lettuce, arugula, onion, and cherry tomatoes that stole the show.

The saltado, was interesting but good.  Quite good, actually, and we did praise it highly for its flavor and the tenderness of the meat.  However, it wasn't a saltado (i.e. sautee) per se, but given artistic license, that was neither here nor there. What was an issue that we mentioned was that the meat was overcooked in relation to what we had asked for.  Eventually, the kitchen will surely get it down pat.

Overall, we were impressed with the locale, the decor, and the table settings.  We definitely enjoyed the drinks!  And, despite our critiques, we did in fact like the food quite a bit.

It was a fun night, and it will be nice to go back and see what they can do with a bit more time under their belts.




Popular
Larcomar shopping center
Malecon de la Reserva N° 610
Miraflores - Lima