Some random Peruvian spots, as we continue to work our way through the 200+ Peruvian restaurants in town.
Naomi Resto Sushi Bar, Laprida 1910, Recoleta – This place is the lobby restaurant in a small hotel. It’s been several restaurants while we’ve lived here, all forgettable. A new sign went up recently touting the Peruvian food and sushi, and we thought we’d give a try at the former for now. Which is a good thing, because on our first visit, they hadn’t yet hired a “sushiman”, so none of the latter was actually available. As to the former, the menu was “in development”, as the chef had just started, so the only thing available is a menú ejecutivo at lunchtime, and, apparently, the same dishes in the evening, just without the lower pricing. On the day of our visit, they had three options, a lomo saltado, and tallarines, noodles, stir-fried with either beef or chicken. Only they didn’t have any lomo saltado, so we got one each of the noodle variations. Surprisingly good, albeit a trifle pricey for a Peruvian lunch menú, at 180 pesos, especially as it didn’t include the usual bowl of soup that other Peruvian spots serve up prior to the main course. But, hey, hotel lobby restaurant, Recoleta, what can you say? Good enough that once they have a full-on menu, we’ve decided we’ll pop back and give it another try. Stay tuned. [Closed]
Aromas Criollos, Hipolito Yrigoyen 3002, Once – One of numerous spots in the area near to Plaza Miserere that we hadn’t yet tried – we so often when over that way tend to just hit Sabor Norteño, a favorite of Henry’s, that these places have sat in the background. Just a half block away, this spot sits on the corner of La Rioja. It’s not big, maybe a dozen tables. It smells a little musty. It’s a little noisy, with not only a television on over one wall, but also music playing, and some sort of squeaky motor running off to one side in a cooler (noise level is apparently the new “thing” to critique restaurants on, this one rings in on SoundMeter at 70 dB, which puts it at “busy traffic or a vacuum cleaner”.) But service was immediately attentive and friendly.
We ordered up a couple of favorites. Henry got seco de cordero – excellent beans, really garlicky, good rice, good onion salad, and the lamb was flavorful, though we both found it a little tough (190 pesos). I went with the tallarines verdes con churrasco, overcooked spaghetti in a pretty good “Peruvian pesto”, with a well seasoned steak, and good papas a la huancaina on the side (180 pesos). Huge portions of both, we could have easily split one dish. We brought some of each home for dinner. Not at the top of the list, but certainly above average! And, they deliver to here, so we might well try a few more dishes that way down the line.
Carlito’s, Av. Corrientes 3070, Abasto – somewhere, way back in time, I recall that we used to get pollo a las brasas from this place, a couple of friends of ours recommended it because it was cheap and fairly good. I think we had it once or twice at their house, and maybe once ordered it for delivery to ours. But we’re talking 2006 or so. I’m pretty sure we never went there, and I have no photos on file, nor did I ever write it up, so I’m thinking that it was somewhat forgettable.
Popped in recently with my friend Steven, on a non-Koreatown day. We’re allowed to get together on days other than Sunday. Clean and spacious, a bit noisy (that decibel meter was running in the low 80s – “loud music, alarm clocks”, which is a bit annoying when trying to eat). Friendly if somewhat random service.
An order of rocotos rellenos – the peppers nice and spicy, the filling a very tasty ground beef mixture. A little too much cheese, and not great cheese at that, and way too many potatoes. 170 pesos. A specialty of the house (weekends and holidays only, this was a holiday) is pachamanca, a dish I particularly have liked at the nearby Mamaní. Here, not so much. Flavors were okay, but kind of muted. The three meats – chicken, lamb, and pork – all way overcooked, dry and stringy. The fava beans were reconstituted and old. And the sweet potatoes underneath were pretty much mush. 300 pesos. So, overall, a big “meh”. There are too many better places around the area to revisit this one.
