Found 1 blog post with tag: Peru
El Tío Darío
Where? El Tio Dario (Yanahuara, Arequipa, Peru) Map Menu
When? Saturday August 24, 2019
Who? Nancy, King, Sunshine and Alfia
Food Style? Peruvian
Our first restaurant adventure in Arequipa, Peru leads us to a beautiful restaurant with a spacious garden near Yanahaura called El Tio Dario. Few people in Arequipa speak English, so my super basic Spanish is constantly being tested. Fortunately, Google is never too far away, so I'm able to look up and translate lots of strange food words like adobo and ocopa. Thanks to my French, I recognise words like picante, carne and pescado. We've decided to share five platters of well-known Peruvian dishes.
Pisco Sour
Sunshine and I can't resist the Peruvian national drink. It reminds me of a margarita, but it is very strong. Too strong in fact. I'm almost immediately drunk. Sunshine's has strawberry in it and isn't as strong as mine. Probably best to take it easy on the pisco from now on.
Surprise Starter
Potato gratin
A dish comes out and no one has any idea what it is, so we ask the waiter and his English is as good as my Spanish but we gather “gratis” and “casa” - it's a free starter on the house! It's a delicious potato gratin topped with tomatoes and a slightly spicy sauce, with some toasted bread on the side.
First Plate
Soltero de queso con quinua tricolor: a classic salad from Arequipa in Tio Dario's own style, with three types of quinoa
A refreshing salad on the side with a famous Peruvian ingredient - quinoa! Quinoa is a staple in Peruvian cuisine, when cooked well, it is fluffy and light. The cheese adds a beautiful richness and the salad dressing gives it a nice appetising acidity.
Second Plate
Cebiche clasico: ceviche of mahi-mahi, with just the right amount of lemon juice
Ceviche is the national dish of Peru. It is fish cured with the juice of a lemon or lime (or both). A variety of fish or seafood can be used, but here we have mahi-mahi, a white fleshed ocean fish. Zesty and tangy, with a little bit of kick from the chili, the ingredients are simple but the flavours are complex and it's incredibly appetising.
Third Plate
Adobo arequipeño: marinated pork served Arequipa style, with bread and a cup of aniseed tea
Tender, juicy pork that's almost been stewed. It's got a strong, rich flavour and the jus can be mopped up with some of the bread on the side.
Fourth Plate
Anticucho de corazon de res: barbequed ox heart skewers
Beautifully grilled with lots of spice, it's served with a heap of potatoes (another Peruvian native!) and beans.
Fifth Plate
Saltado de alpaca: stir fried alpaca with onion, tomato, mild pepper, fried potatoes and rice
We just visited an alpaca farm and of course we had to try eating these adorable things. It's delicious. Not very gamey but tender. The sauce is full of flavour. Poor Nancy can't bring herself to eat it because they're too cute.
An excellent meal that ticked off a lot of the Peruvian food checkboxes that I had. I can't wait to try more delicacies if they're as good as what I had today. This restaurant is probably a bit boujie in comparison to other restaurants but it's a good deal after conversion to Canadian dollars.
Posted by Jeremy at 6:40pm on Thursday January 2, 2020 :: 0 comments :: 