Offal Good Eating in Arequipa

Om Nomz Hero Note to Self: If meat is being grilled on a stick, immediately get it, you can ask questions later

Doorway to awesome

Sometimes, despite all the research I may do on a city, there are just places that you are meant to stumble upon. Not a place that is mentioned in guidebooks or chowhound, just somewhere you find while wandering around.  Arequipa has many great restaurants on the high end scale, but I walked by them and I they were kind of empty and cold and I was just not feeling it. After a momentary walk, snack of some street churros I found myself walking towards the San Camillo Market area and that is when I found this place. I call it this place because there was no name to the place, just a banner pronouncing “salchichas” and a grill cart that was wafting a smoky perfume into the street.  It had all the signs of a good place to eat: lots of people, meat on a stick, cases of beer and I was clearly the minority. Actually, I do not think they had salchichas, or at least any that I could see people eating. 

Wok of awesome

On the grill was anticuchos, beef heart skewers which was more than enough reason to eat here. But there on the side is a bowl slowly sizzling away got me excited, a wok of offal bits ranging from chitterlings to tripe it had it all. I immediately ordered a mix plate of all and hade one of the best meals in Arequipa. The mix plate came with potatoes without saying and a rocoto sauce that despite my usual rules of avoiding salsas that may contain water, I ignored and willingly accepted any consequences that may have resulted. 

Chitterlings

The chitterlings were soft, chewy and fatty and had a slight crisp on the outside. The barnyard essence was not horribly apparent but was still good. The Anticuchos on the other hand were great. The beef was tender, flavorful and I ordered an extra one because I just could not get enough. The rocoto sauce on the side was slightly peppery and sweet and great sauce to slather on everything. For the budget conscious the whole meal cost 15 soles and came without any after meal consequences that can result from eating such foods. Sure this place is not for everyone, I am one of these weird people that like to eat offal good, even the guy that sat down across from me asked if I knew what I was eating. When I answered affirmatively, and a quick interrogation on my background/ethnicity amusingly quipped not that many gringos would eat this. I take that as a compliment. 

Who says mystery meat is bad?

Chicharronera Cecilia

Om Nomz Hero Note to Self: I love cities that have streets devoted to pork

On a strip, about a 10 minute drive from the Cathedral Center of Arequipa is a magical place. Pulling onto Avienda Arancota you are hit with a momentary panic. There seems to be nothing on this road as it extends out into the barren hills. You are pretty sure the taxi driver is wrong and you are about to get jacked but finally a gaggle of buildings appear and your panic subsides as you pull into Chicharronera Cecilia where the sheer amount of cars and people, have you wonder if the majority of the Arequipa population is here in this spot. 

Chicharronera Cecilia fall into the category of a picanteria technically in the sense that families come here mainly on the weekends and eat the afternoon away but it is more than that. It is a party pavilion and I mean pavillon literally. The main show of Chicharronera Cecilia is double dickered pavilions filled with people and live music and a dance floor. 

the band

I most definitely stood out here, not too many Asians in this part, especially here. But after I sat down, I was soon “adopted” Bragelina style by a family in which they tried to make conversation with me and feed me Inka Cola and beer, not mixed of course. Due to noise and having a long last name, I only really got the head of the family’s name Luis who insisted on me drinking multiple beers with him. For those following, I am not a big drinker but it was rude to not accept it. However later I wish I did, because it paid for it the next morning on my way to the Colca Canyon. 

The thing to get here is pork. If you do not get pork here, you have wasted your time. Fried pork goodness is what you get here and the only question is how much of it you want. It is or course, served with fried sweet potatoes, a fried potato (never can have enough papas) and salsa criolla. The pork is a cut of the belly with the lion attach giving you a range of cuts and the sucker is deep fried. The mixture of booze and fatty pork was almost overwhelming.

the ktichen

Cecilia is more than just a restaurant, it is a retreat, I mean in the back of the party pavilion was a big playground for kids. It is a place for families and all to come and relax on Sunday, drink, dance and have the odd chance of getting a gringo tipsy on booze and pork.

my regret- selling pork rinds, they were too big, like bigger than my head

Chicharronera Cecilia

Avenida Arancota

(If your taxi driver doesn’t know where this is, be wary)

Picanteria La Capitana

Om Nomz Hero Note to Self: Does not matter where I am or if I am trying, I end up eating food off of someone else’s plate

Arequipa is known for Picanterias which are these eateries that serve up traditional eats. It is a typical place that families hit up on the weekends, specifically on Sundays and eat and lounge out. There are not really located in the Historic District where I was staying and require a short taxi ride or a walk to get to some of these places. I read about Picanteria La Capitana as one of the best ones to eat at before arriving in Arequipa. I later confirmed that this was the place to eat when I asked my new found friends at the market. 

From the Cathedral, it was a 4 Sole taxi ride. I walked back to the Cathedral center after my meal and it was about a 20 minute walk, at least for me. La Capitana is located in the suburbs part of Arequipa but the street it is located on is quite empty and nothing around it screams out food. It is the literal definition of a hole in the wall in which there is just a doorway and the words, “La Capitana” engraved above it. Even when you walk through the doorway, the only indication that there is a restaurant here is the posted menu and after going through a 10 foot alley way, you are transported to a busy restaurant. 

You seat yourself here however, Chinatown seating rules are in effect here in which if there are open chairs where you are sitting, when it gets busy a family or people will sit with you. The menu is not that big, but the portions are hefty and the food is heavy so I was unable to eat that many things from the menu. Most can get the set meal which is the dobIe but given I had fried pork in my future, I decided against it. I started off with the Rocoto Relleno and pastel de papa. The Rocoto Relleno is a stuffed pepper that is popular here and the pastel de papa is a version of potato gratin. The Rocoto Relleno is stuffed with meat (beef), cheese, potato and onion and topped off with more cheese. I read that it is spicy but I only got a hint of heat. The Rocoto Relleno was good and had some earthy spices in it. The pastel de papa was good as well, but it will fill you up and sits in you like a Ford F-150…driven by Paula Deen pre-diabetes announcement. The pastel de papa is covered with not just cheese but egg yolks as well, if the potatoes soaked in cream was not enough for you. It was really good and I had to control myself from finishing it off. Food After the Jump!

Colca Canyon, Peru

Om Nomz Hero Note to Self: Condors are ugly looking. Parental discretion is advised when viewing.

el Misti in the background in Arequipa

I did not start off well that first morning of my trek in the Colca Canyon. We had a 3 hour bus ride from Arequipa to the Canyon and I had too much pork (I know not possible right?) and booze in my system and 20 minutes into the ride, I had to pee, really bad. Oh yeah, it is 3:30 in the morning. I can do without that experience again. The Colca Canyon is located in the South of Peru whereas the ever popular Inca Trail and Cusco, is in the north. It is one of the deepest Canyons in the world so Grand Canyon, you are on notice, you have to step it up. The Colca Canyon is also home to many villages too as well as the Andean Condors. The Condors are the thing that busloads of people with SLR cameras and fanny packs come to see to get that one shot of the Condors. They are apparently endangered and have a huge wingspan and I admire its majestic qualities and all, but it is an ugly bird. We were lucky, going in late March which is usually a bad time to see the Condors but we were able to get a few shots of a couple flying around. Also while we were going back to Arequipa after the trek, another few by and I never seen people jump out of a van so quickly that was not on fire. Also, do not start shouting Condor at these tourist stop points, people do not appreciate it and apparently anger German tourist greatly as I found out. 

Condor

The trip starts out in Arequipa, where depending on whom you booked your trek with; you are picked up around 3am with others and driven to the Colca Canyon. With a stop for breakfast and Condor picture taking, we stopped literally in the middle of an empty road and that was the start point. Our guide Roy, was apparently not on the same bus as us and we had to wait for a good 10 minutes before he arrived, other than the awkward waiting around with two Frenchies that did not speak much English, Roy was a great guide. Roy was pointing out things about the Canyon and the plants and vegetation. He talked about the towns in the Canyon as well as how peopled lived there. 

The Canyon itself is beautiful and massive in which the cloud hovers in the Canyon walls. There is a mix of terrain from rich, fertile ground to dry cactus breeding desert. The people in the canyon are friendly as well as the kiddies who apparently after the 5^th or 6^th grade have to make the commute and stay in Cabanaconde for school. Coming home for the weekend is a bit harder when you have to climb in and out of the Canyon. There is this Oasis called the Sengalle in the Canyon that has pools that you can kind of relax and cool in. The water is from the mountains and besides the random waifs of mule shit, it is nice and refreshing to jump into. 

Sengalle- random swim hole and green stuff

The trek itself is a challenge and anyone that tells you otherwise is a liar or Ivan Drago. But again, a relative fit individual should have no problem in doing this trek. The only difficult part is the last day, getting out of the Canyon which is just a long way up. There is a bit of an altitude adjustment, it is about 3,000 meters so you need to watch out for that. Coca tea really does help and though it taste just as good as it looks: dead leaves. The taste is actually not that bad and it grows on you and the addition of sugar helps too. 

After the climb out of the Canyon, you do a bit of sightseeing and stop at a few touristy spots. I really say touristy because at one place, they were making pisco sours for the Gringos. There is also a stop at a hot springs but my group had no interest in it but others in our collective  bus did so be prepared to sit around for an hour.

Tips and Run down of the Trek:

1.       You can do this solo without a guide. But if you choose to go with a guide there are multiple tour companies that offer a trek in the Canyon. I went with Colonial Tours and I paid 160 Soles for a three day trek. You can do this trek in 2 days or if you want to go hardcore, do it in one. The three day is still a challenge and lets you linger and check out the towns in the Canyon in my opinion but to each their own.

2.       The trail is very Gringo friendly in which is nicely laid out and you have to be kind of dumb to get lost. Not much mud, but a lot of loose gravel and rocks.

3.       The canyon gets real cold at night and pretty hot during the day so pack accordingly.

4.       Similar to well, any trek a headlamp is a nice thing to have as there is no electricity

5.       You have the option of getting a mule to ride out of the canyon. Don’t. Everyone will laugh at you and call you a little bitch behind your back or to your face in multiple languages. Also if you are an American, don’t make us look bad.

6.       Food was okay. Lunch and dinner was soup and a plate of food. Nothing special, but not inedible, food to keep you going, I suggest snacks. Also, the last day you are horded to a Tourista Comida and have to eat at this all you can eat buffect place. You really have no choice, because there are no other food options around and you are 3 hrs out from Arequipa. It is 20 soles and the food kind of sucks. Lots of unknown fried stuff and watery stew thing and a disgusting rocoto relleno. Suggest loading up on the veggies and salad because they are made for Gringos and safe for Gringo stomachs.

7.       Went in late March, the weather was fine and rained one night for about an hour. Other than hearing land/rock sliding in the Canyon, thankfully on the other side of the Canyon it was fine.

San Camillo Market- Arequipa, Peru

Om Nomz Hero Note to Self: Lamb head soup in the morning, could that be the coffee replacer?

After spending another lovely evening in the Lima Airport, I took an early morning flight to Arequipa. Arequipa is the second largest city in Peru but has a pretty small airport. However, it is probably one of the most beautiful airports to arrive to as you step off the airplane and greeted with El Misti in the background. I arrived hungry and the last thing I ate was when I was still in Colombia and I went into food finding mode and immediately went looking for the market. 

Mucho Papas

San Camillo Market is the oldest in Arequipa and the biggest and has lots and lots of tasty food options.

The market is actually well organized and has signs hanging over head, categorizing parts of the market from meats, juices, fruits and even menudo (offal). It does not matter if you are clearly a tourist or gringo, everyone will try and sell you what they got. Some are quite convincing when I walked out with a bag of fruit or others not so much when a meat vendor tried to selling me a side of beef. When I informed her that I was visiting Arequipa and posed the question to her of where I was suppose to cook it, she lowered the price by 5 soles. 

However there is of course lots of food to eat. One thing to understand is that it is cold in the mornings so soup or adobo is a logical choice for a morning meal. Plus it is hearty and keeps you going all day. One of the specialties of the area is the cabeza de cordero sopa. Those that have not rushed to the Google translate tab I will save you the trouble that is Lamb head soup. The lamb head soup section in located on the second floor and there are about 3-4 proprietors selling this lovely soup and I went with Maria’s lamb head soup because it had the most people there. One thing I must specify is that you can pick the part of the head you want. I cannot stress this enough and I did not realize this till afterwards but thankfully, I guess she wanted to play scare the Chinito, she gave me the right jaw and the tongue. For those that are wary of eating heads, you are missing out on some great soup. The Soup and more Food after the jump!