I ate at the best restaurant in the world
and it was only my second favorite food experience in Lima
Last month, to my delight but not to my surprise, Central was named the world’s best restaurant. I had the immense pleasure of dining there in March 2022, and it was one of the highlights of my month in Lima.
If you’ve seen the Chef’s Table episode on Virgilio Martínez, the head chef at Central, you know that he is heavily influenced by his home country of Peru. After training in the great kitchens of Europe, he chose to diverge from the well-laid path of traditional French cuisine in order to redefine Peruvian gastronomy.
Peru has three main regions - coast, jungle, mountains - and 90 different microclimates, which enables the country to enjoy extremely fresh produce year-round. And of course, we cannot forget about the potatoes. If you ask anyone on the streets of Lima, they will proudly proclaim that Peru is home to over 4000 varieties of potatoes.
All of that was put on display in the tasting menu at Central, which takes you on a journey from below sea level to the peaks of the Andes. Throughout, chef Virgilio tells the story of his motherland by featuring ingredients from each altitude, as well as traditional Peruvian cooking techniques.
I am not a food critic, so I cannot add much to the discourse about the caliber of the cooking. All I can say is that each course was delicious and eye-opening, and I left a very full and happy customer. And while we had an absolutely incredible dining experience at Central, arguably one of the best in the world, it was only my second-favorite food experience in Lima.
It’s early in the morning when we meet Arturo and Sheyla, our guides from Lima Tasty Tours who are going to be taking us on a food tour through a local market. They assure us that there will be nary another tourist in sight, because where we’re going is about as local and authentic as you can get in Lima.
Our first stop is a cart on a busy walking path in Barranco, where our guides introduce us to a variety of breakfast beverages made with some combination of quinoa, oats, and maca powder. These superfood-rich drinks sound like something you’d pay an exorbitant amount for at Erewhon, but Limeños often have them for breakfast for the equivalent of $1 USD.
Once we get to the market, the tour is an absolute whirlwind of colors, smells, flavors, and local characters too. We indulge in what can best be described as a hangover sandwich, with juicy lechón spilling out from between a soft roll. There’s a meat stew made with some sort of innards from some sort of animal. I can’t be sure - my job here is not to ask, only to eat. All I know is that we’re off to a very strong start.
As we make our way deeper into the market, I realize that one could probably find anything they want here. Between stalls selling bootleg DVDs and ladies’ lingerie, one can buy the freshest fruits or herbal remedies from a local shaman. The scent of mint and chamomile intertwine with the metallic odor that lets you know a butcher is near.
Several times throughout the tour, I catch the somewhat jarring sight of a whole hen split in half vertically and butterflied to display eggs at various stages of development within. This is to ensure customers that they are indeed buying a hen, whose meat tends to be fattier and juicier than that of a rooster. I feel slightly uneasy when I see the poultry dangling from hooks, but I clearly have a short memory span, because I have no loss of appetite at the next stall.
We take a seat at the counter and watch as the chef layers chicken, steamed vegetables, cheese, and mayonnaise atop a thin sheet of mashed potato. He then rolls the potato until it resembles a roulade, and cuts us off a piece from the end. This is causa, a popular entrée in Peru that is somewhere between a deconstructed potato salad and a casserole. The name comes from the indigenous Quechua language, from the word kausay, which translates to “giver of life”. Again, Peruvians take their potatoes very seriously.
Onwards we go, stopping every two or three stalls to try the delicacy on display. At one stop we’re introduced to humita, a mealy corn cake with chicken that’s wrapped and steamed in the corn husk. At another we get to try the custardy native fruit lúcuma (tasting notes: butterscotch, caramel, maple syrup) in a milkshake.
As we make our way through the labyrinthine market, our guides pause their spiel often to wave at a friend or exchange a few words with a vendor. They are local celebrities and it’s no wonder, given they spend most of their days introducing people from around the world to all the delectable delights that the market has to offer.
The hours pass, and I’m struggling to keep up with the courses, not for lack of appetite but due to the sheer abundance of food to taste. There’s roast duck served on a bed of beautiful cilantro rice, which is crispy where it’s touching the scalding cast iron pan. There’s a warm ceviche, which is steeped in a gorgeous yellow pepper sauce and smoked in corn husk.
When I feel like I’m about to burst, Sheyla joyfully announces that it’s time for dessert! I guess I can find a little more room for something sweet. We are treated to a pudding called mazamorra morada, which is made from purple corn and often paired with arroz con leche. There’s also picarones, which resemble onion rings, but are made with sweet potatoes and pumpkin and are deep fried in molasses. It is most common to eat these desserts in the late afternoon, and the calls of vendors selling the treats fill the town square as we sit to savor them. Finally we get to sample a variety of native fruits ranging from the familiar - mangoes - to the foreign - granadilla, the sweeter cousin to the passion fruit.
We’re about to wrap up the tour now and as we’re ambling down the sidewalk we spot two older gentlemen walking ahead of us. One is carrying a bottle of the iconic local drink, chicha morada, which is made from purple corn, fruits, and spices and known for its deep hue and refreshing flavor. The other is wearing a shirt that reads La Cevicheria, Proudly Peruvian. If Arturo had staged the encounter to end the tour on a poetic note then he would've succeeded.
During my time in Peru, I was able to sample across the entire food spectrum, from the finest of fine dining to the humblest of market stalls. The presentation may have varied, but the pride was the same. In the fresh fruit year-round, in the biodiversity, in the plethora of potatoes. Food is the lifeblood of Peruvian culture, the common thread that weaves together people from all walks of life, from all altitudes and microclimates. Through food, Peruvians share an unspoken bond to each other. And through food, they offer that connection with us.
Many thanks to our incredible guides for providing us with our all-time favorite food experience in Lima! If you are visiting Peru, make sure to take a local market food tour with Lima Tasty Tours and let them know that Brooklyn Food Lady says hi ☺️
For more details and bookings, check out their website or their IG.
Wonderful foody experience! Good job Angela! Look forward to your next one!