Peru | The Food Buster

Tradicion Arequipena

Tradición Arequipeña. Traditional Arequipenian Peruvian cuisine. $5 to $10 for entrees. My cost was 93 soles, or about $30, for 4 large courses & 3 fruit drinks for 93 soles. Avenida Dolores 111, Arequipa, Peru. One of the great things about Peruvian cuisine is the diversity of regional cooking styles and specialties. One...

Baco

Eclectic/Modern Peruvian. 30 to 50 soles for entrées (about $10 to $17). Ruinas 465, Cusco, Peru. Because of the way my tours had been planned in Peru, I had to return to Cusco for one night before returning to Lima to jet back to Argentina. In that day, I really had nothing left to do but to eat. I’m not kidding, either. For...

Ocucaje Wine

Ocucaje Chardonnay Peru Unavailable on Wine-searcher. This isn’t great. The color is golden, but it lacks luster and even looks dirty/muddy. Nice, fruity aroma to it. It goes down as smoothly as water—it’s that light. However, it lacks flavor and has very little length. You can get a nice puckering feel out of it, but it’s...

Viejo Tonel Italia

Viejo Tonel Italia Pisco (a type of grape brandy) Peru The Italia is one of the sweeter types of pisco, landing somewhere between the Mosto Verde and the Torontel on the spectrum of sweetness and aroma. The aroma on this one has a lot of fruity notes. It’s way harsher than the Viejo Tonel Mosto Verde Pisco, but it still...

Peruvian Wines Coming!

Now that I’ve finished up my travel through the world of piscos, I’ll be shifting focus to wines again. However, I’ll be doing something a bit unexpected and staying in Peru for a bit, to review a few (of the very few) Peruvian wines. I really can’t say that Peru’s a great wine-producing nation, so this...

Viejo Tonel Torontel

Viejo Tonel Torontel Pisco (a type of grape brandy) Peru The Torontel is a type of Pisco that leans towards the quebranta side of the spectrum in terms of its sweetness profile, but which incorporates just a bit more aroma and some fruity notes. This one has a lovely aroma—the alcohol still comes through strongly but with a great...

Pisco Macerated in Coca Leaves

Pisco Macerated in Coca Leaves Peru Wow! Pisco picks up so much flavor from the maceration. Transparent, green color instead of the traditional white for a pisco. The aroma completely exudes coca. The taste is rather interesting—coca jumps out just slightly in both the 1st taste and the aftertaste. It’s rather smooth, with a...

Gran Comodoro Acholado

Gran Comodoro Acholado Pisco (a type of grape brandy) Peru This was the “highest” quality of Acholado I could find in the bars in Peru, costing about twice as much as the typical pisco. Acholado, as stated previously, is a mix of different grapes. This one is very strong, leaning towards the quebranta side. It tastes almost...

Viejo Tonel Quebranta

Viejo Tonel Quebranta Pisco (a type of grape brandy) Peru The quebrante is a non-aromatic and tasteless grape varietal. It is typically meant to be used in cocktails, so it’s not a great drink on its own, though it is the traditional variety of Pisco. Strong and sharp—almost no taste. Starts out a bit sweet but turns acidic and...

La Casona

La Casona Traditional Peruvian About $8 to $15 for main course. Lima 517 Puno, Peru During my trip to Peru, I spent a night in Puno before heading off to Lake Titicaca to spend some time on an island with some of Peru’s indigenous people. That’s great and all, but unfortunately when you’re stranded on an island with no...