Peruvian Food Tour: Criollo Food
The hearty, diverse food of Peru's coast and capital
Peru's criollo cuisine is derived from a variety of influences from Spanish, African, and Chinese.
Peru's coast and capital city of Lima are the heart of Criollo dishes, which are a combination of African, Spanish, Andean, Asian and Pre-Colombian influences.
Anticuchos
Pepe’s Anticucheria - several locations around the city for kebabed beef hearts rubbed in spices and grilled, most often on street corners or small restaurants. They are served with a potato, ear of corn, and a side of aji, or pepper sauce. Prices range from about $2-3 per serving.
Street stalls - Street vendors cooking up the tasty sticks of meat can be found throughout the night in most places in the capital. Some are better than others and draw visitors from around the city. There’s one near Avenida Santa Cruz and La Mar that is particularly good. Generally 6 soles (under $2).
Causa
Causa is made of layers of mashed yellow potatoes with different filling such as avocado or seafood. Mi Causa restaurant in Miraflores has dozens of variations of this Criollo dish.
Tacu-Tacu
Tacu-tacu was created by African plantation workers in fields south of Lima. The dish generally consists of seasoned day old rice and beans topped with a fried egg, onions, and banana. It can be found stuffed with seafood or with a side of aji, or chilli sauce.
Lomo-Saltado
Lomo Saltado is the most typical example of Chinese influence in coastal cuisine. The dish combines stir fried beef, tomatoes, and soy sauce with French fries and white rice. It can be found in seafood, Chinese (chifas), and criollo restaurants which each have their own varieties.
Aji de Gallina
Aji de Gallina is a favorite criollo dish of many locals. Shredded chicken is mixed with a thick, creamy aji pepper spiced sauce. It most often sits on a bed of white rice, but can sometimes be found in an empanada.
Dulces
Dulces Limeño, or sweets, are many. Suspiro a la Limeña (the sigh of a girl from Lima) is the most famous and combines egg, manjar blanco, port wine, and sugar to create a rich, creamy custard. Mazamorra morada is purple corn pudding usually served with rice pudding. Picarones are pumpkin fritters fried up in street corners and on festivals that are topped with a hot syrup.
General Criollo Food
Manos Morenos - A very traditional, criollo restaurant in a leafy patioed colonial house in Barranco. At night it becomes a lively peña. Very Limeño.
Jose Antonio - One of the finest restaurants in Lima and perjaps the best restaurant for fine criollo dishes.
Rustica - has the 25 sole ($8) all you can eat buffet of criollo -and desserts- during lunchtime. The Barranco restaurant is an elegant colonial house and can get very crowded on the weekends.
