On the last day of traveling in Peru, Adam and I were fortunate enough to be able to dine at Central Restaurante--ranked Number 4 in the World and Number 1 in Latin America. Upon discovering that Lima is known for its gastronomy, I found the best restaurant and decided to make reservations. We reserved 8 weeks ahead for this dinner. Living in NYC, there are plenty of restaurants with amazing food. In fact, the Number 2 restaurant in the world is across the street from where I work. However, the price per person there is about double Central. Though Central was expensive, in NYC it would be considered a bargain.
We arrived an hour early in case of traffic. The door is practically hidden and we had to wait until promptly 7:45 to be welcomed inside. We were the first table to be seated and the staff was ready. Bottled water, our first cocktail pairing, and first course were out in minutes.
The menu is called "Elevations" based on the ingredients found at the different elevations in Peru. There are 17 courses and 11 different wine/drink pairings.
Course 1 is called "Rock Molluscs" from -10 meters. This is Sea Snail, Mussel, Sargassum, and Limpet. No, I can't tell you what all those ingredients are and yes, we jumped right into sea snail. Don't be fooled by the fancy plates they serve on: only the crunchy green chip and its contents are edible. I wish I could remember what it tasted like but I know it was good.
As soon as we lifted the Rock Mollusc course from its plate...Course 2 was arriving.
Course 2: Desert Plants 180 meters
Haurango, Cactus, Sweet Potato Leaf, Loche
Starting with the bite on the left: Tuna Ice Cream which is not "tuna" the fish that we are imagining but rather the prickly pear cactus fruit. This bite was almost breaded on the outside and then suddenly cold and sweet.
Bite 2 in the center was crunchy and airy. Sweet-ish but a little salty as well.
On the far right are two Sweet Potato Leaves, flash fried to perfect. These tasted like eating a sweet potato chip. Why don't they sell these in stores?
We tried to eat slowly since every time we lifted a piece of food off the plate, the servers were right there to take it away!
Course 3: Lofty Anders 3500 meters
Potato, Tree Tomato, Alpaca, Muna Mint
The potatoes are the oblong black pieces hidden amongst the rocks and sticks on the serving dish. The potato is crusted in ashes which is why the skin is black. In the round dish in front is a dipping sauce which contains the remaining ingredients.
I need to learn how to make sauces. There was a crunchy topping there to the green tinted sauce. I couldn't get enough of it on my potato.
Course 4 is one of my favorites! "Thick Stems" 3500 meters
Olluco, Chincho, Onion, Field Mustard
Olluco are the reddish potato-type food in the triangle on the right. These are not display only. At this point, we are realizing we got through 4 courses in such a short time! We try to stall but the food is so good!
My personal favorite of the small bites was this crunchy Olluco bite on top. It was fried potato and onion strings with a bit of the mustard in the center. Potato, onion, salt, light mustard = Amazing. To finish this course was a sip of Olluco soup which was creamy and delicious as you would expect a potato soup to be.
Course 5: River Scales 680 meters
River Shrimp, Doncella, Achiote, Huampo
Don't be fooled by the fancy serving dish again. The only edible piece here is the shiny yellow shrimp wrapped in the green leaf. I remember this course to be good, (as everything was) and a nice move to a lighter item after the fried potato. It was sweeter than expected and even a bit slimy. We were unsure about this item, debating taking it in one bite or two. Adam took it in two bites and it was worth it. I wish I hadn't a second bite once I gulped it down in one piece.
Part One Done! Part 2 and 3 to come!
