food

It wouldn't be a vacation without a trip to a buffet! On our last day in the Cusco area our cab driver, Adrian, suggested this restaurant that had a buffet.* I don't think there was a single person in the place that wasn't a tourist. Other than potatoes, here are some typical Peruvian dishes:

Cuy-guinea pig. I tried a little bite at the buffet, but at a different restaurant my mom got cuy nuggets. She said it was kind of stringy. Driving around the countryside, we saw lots of houses that had giant cuy ovens. I think my aunt took a picture of one. I'll post the picture later.

Ceviche-fish that has been "cooked" in lime juice.


Yuca-also known as cassava or manioc. It's a root that was cooked similar to a potato. Tapioca is actually made from this kind of root. I liked this stuff alot-especially when it was fried like a french fry.

Chicha morada-a beverage made from purple corn. The alcoholic version, which is just called chicha, is made with yellow corn that little old ladies grind up, stick in their mouths to get it spitty (to break down the starch), then spit it back out. Sounds tasty, huh! If you see a house that has a red flag hanging outside, it means they have homemade chica for sale.

Sopa a la Criolla-a traditional soup usually made with chicken, noodles, an egg, and some milk in the broth. Every restaurant has their own version. My dad and I ate quite a bit of soup. He usually got Sopa a la Criolla and I got Dieta del Pollo, which was basically chicken noodle soup.





*I'm pretty sure the amount of food we ate there could have fed a Peruvian family for about a month.