Destination Peru #12: Peru has Pizza?

Amaru
Agua Calientes, in the town square with the Incan fountain

I apologize for the lack of addresses or more specific directions, but this is probably the easiest way to find the place paired with the above photo. Restaurant Amaru is upstairs, providing a scenic balcony view of the square.


View from the restaurant

I wonder if you noticed something peculiar about the sign of the restaurant in the first picture. "Bar,restaurant..." yes those all make sense, "...pizzeria"? Now in itself it may not be quite so strange, but pizzeria is actually a fairly common site in Peru. How many of you knew that Peru has pizza, and lots of it? After passing by many of these places, I couldn't help but try it.



And it was good. In fact, so good, it beats most of the pizza I've had here. Maybe it even holds a candle to NY style pizza. Though they are quite different types of pizza, I'd be hard pressed to choose a NY slice over a Peruvian one. The crust was thin, like a slightly risen cracker but crisp from the wood oven. This pizza is a pizza mixta, with ham, palm hearts, olives, bacon, cheese and oregano. As much as NY pizza is defined by the dough and the sauce, I think Peruvian pizzas are characterized by the cheese. I'm tempted to say it's queso fresco, but I can't confirm that. All I know is the the way the ham paired with the gooey strands made me go back to another pizzeria the next day.

Besides the marvelous pizza, I also had an empanada which I regrettably forgot to photograph. The crust was different than the Argentinian ones I had before. It wasn't flaky as much as it was smooth. I think they messed up my order and gave me a pure cheese one. Ultimately, it was too much dairy for me to handle.

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Destination Peru #11: The Cuy Finally

Restaurant Pachatuzan
Pachatuzan Road, Agua Calientes
$16 for the cuy

If any of you have talked to me about my trip already, you'll know that I got a chance to try guinea pig. In Peru, guinea pig, or cuy, is usually served for special occasions. From what the guide said, it sounded like the equivalent of a goose. How often do Americans eat goose except for special dinners around holidays? Well cuy is an Andean dish, so I waited to get into the mountains before selecting a restaurant. Many of the places in Agua Calientes serve it to the tourist clientele. I saw a few of them skinned and sold in the markets, but none alive. I chose Restaurant Pachatuzan because we had been to plenty of fancy places and this one looked simple and somewhat less frequented. They featured a large wood oven in the back for roasting many of their dishes. Soon after we sat down, the lights went out. But the owners were quick to bring out candles and resume service. It occurred to me that blackouts were probably not too uncommon.






My mother had the cordero a la parilla. Looking in my trust pocket dictionary, I realized that it was roast lamb. It was simple, no fancy garnishes, but according to my mom, a great dish.



My dad chose the trout because of its ubiquity. Apparently, it is a regional specialty showing up on most of the menus around town. The skin was crisp, but the fish lacked much flavor of its own. Every dish came with a side of thin fried potatoes.

Finally, my order came.



I was hoping to see the whole guinea pig comfortably lain with its paws tucked underneath like a whole roasted pig. Mine came spatchcocked, which makes sense from a cooking perspective, but lacked the dramatic effect. Well if anything, it certainly looked more grotesque. It didn't bother me to see a whole roasted rodent on my plate, except when it stared at me as I was eating it. I turned the plate around so I could eat in peace.



Well that's the presentation, but what did it taste like? To be honest, there was nothing unique or distinct about the flavor of the meat. The taste and texture bore a striking resemblance to dark meat chicken, although the skin was very elastic and chewy. Perhaps I just had a bad cuy, but I was disappointed. Besides the novelty, I don't really see the appeal.

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