Pescado Capitales

Om Nomz Hero Note to Self: So ordering a entrée for an appetizer is not common practice?

Lima is one of my favorite cities to eat in mainly because of their wide array of food and the fresh seafood. One cannot go to Lima and not eat at a cevicheria, and in my crazy mind that should be a priority. After finding a place to crash, find a cevicheria to eat at. Most of the well known cevicherias are located on Avienda La Mar in Miraflores which is an interesting street because it is just cevicherias and auto shops along this stretch. I do not know if there is a correlation, maybe while your car gets worked on, you can relax and eat some ceviche while you wait. Just an idea and something I would do. 

Last year I went to El Mercado which was great but I decided to try Pescado Capitales which is one of the places that locals and tourists all recommend. The name of the restaurant is a play on “capital sins”; pecado is the Spanish word for “sin”, hence capital sins. Thankfully, they do not do anything cheesy or gimmicky with the décor for it is modern, airy and relaxing. However, the menu plays a bit on the whole Capital sins theme, from have sections that a diner can eat from “indulgence”, “greed” and “virtue”, stuff like that. The themes plays sidekick to the food and does not interfere with good food. 

roasted corn

They start off with roasted corn that you find at a lot of places in Peru. It is roasted corn that gets a fryer treatment and sprinkled with salt, a great bar snack. When you first eat it, crisp and salty but the more you chew it, it gets dry. I personally like to use it as an organic crouton and sprinkle it in soups and such. At a cevicheria you have to get a ceviche or some kind of raw fish preparation. I started off with their namesake ceviche, the Capitale Ceviche. It had three kinds of fish, sole, tuna and salmon, and three kinds of peppers, aji, rocoto and lime. The ceviche comes with the standard accompaniment of a boiled sweet potato and boiled sweet corn. The ceviche was big and was topped with seaweed that was refreshing and crunchy. Though it was a mix of fishes, each one still had a distinct taste. The addition of peppers was present, but was not overbearing. The sweet potato and the corn are necessary I realized in order to balance and cut the heavy acidity of the dish. Also, I think it is also filler but nonetheless, they tasted great. Food After the Jump!

Motorino

Om Nomz Hero Note to Self: Learn how to pronounce stracciatella

I profess my love for Neapolitan pies often and frankly, it is what I think is what pizza should be. Motorino is a standby and a place that makes one of the best in New York City. Thankfully, the Earth only swallowed up the Brooklyn location but the East Village location is still going strong. Though smaller, everything is practically the same.

Though I usually go for the meatballs, the octopus salad is a great starter though pricey. However, it is worth every penny and a must order. It looks simple enough with a mixture of tender octopus, celery (which i noticed is the natural veggie pairing) and soft fingerling potatoes the chili flakes is what gets me in this starter. The chili flakes adds that little bit of heat and brings everything together.

Simplicity is the theme here and I went with the Stracciatella. It is a white on white pie. Stracciatella covers the canvas of this pie and it is topped with basil, olive oil and sea salt. That's it. Nothing more, nothing less. A food network show could not even produce such tasty greatness. The stracciatella oozes and its puree like consistency has got you almost slurping up the cheese. You can taste every part of this pie and though people are deterred by this pie because of the lack of tomatoes, I urge you to try it or the douche-y answer, I think there is a 99 cent slice place about 4 blocks away.

Motorino
349 East 12th Street
New York, NY 10003
http://motorinopizza.com/

Last Meals in Cusco: Cicciolina and El Buen Pastor

Om Nomz Hero Note to Self: Nothing creates the mood like sitting by an open window of a second floor restaurant and seeing a woman walk by with a llama on a lease

 Unassuming Courtyard...

Cusco is an ancient and somewhat rural city in the Andes Mountain that is unofficial base camp for expats, backpackers and tourists. As a result, Cusco is littered with tourist restaurants that serve pizzas, hamburgers, and spaghetti which makes it hard to navigate and find quality food in the city. Nothing wrong with pizza and tourist foods, to each their own but I did not personally come to stay in my comfort zone, especially when it comes to food. 

However, with a little effort, and thankfully down the street from my hotel, refined and quality food can be found here. Cicciolina was a place I have been hearing about when I first started doing my food research on my trip to Peru. As much as I like eating homey food from the streets and wandering around aimlessly until I found a madre y padre joint, I want some good food and a place like Cicciolina filled that void.

Open Kitchen and peppers from the ceiling= good things to come

Cicciolina is located right off the Plaza de Armas and after you get pass people peddling massages, alpaca wool and art the only real indication of the restaurant is a chalkboard at street level. You have to walk through these huge double blue doors into a courtyard and on ground level, is Cicciolina’s café and bakery, which can be mistaken that you suddenly walked into a Parisian café with their grand espresso machine, fresh baked croissants and baguettes. Upstairs however, is the restaurant. Cicciolina is Mediterranean restaurant that gives a strong nod to Peruvian cuisine. The space is small; however the open kitchen and open windows makes the space comfortable and spacious. 

I am weird that I like the sight of fresh pasta drying