A quick peek at several spots in barrio Once for Peruvian food that I haven’t checked off the list before.
Brasita Chicken, Agüero 810 – Pretty much the definition of a hole-in-the-wall. Clean, but just worn down enough that you’re not sure it’s safe to sit down. At lunchtime, the only thing on offer is the menú ejecutivo, which on the day in question began with a bowl of Peru’s famous Monday soup, shambar. Not the best version I’ve ever had – very little in the way of wheatberries, with white beans and chickpeas, and a rather thin broth with little flavor. The piece of bone and gristle in the center was pretty much devoid of meat. For the main course, I don’t recall the other option, but I went with the Arroz con pollo, rice with chicken. Flavor-wise, actually pretty good. But, the chicken was cooked to a near leathery texture, the rice was gummy and stodgy, albeit well studded with vegetables and cilantro. The best thing about the meal was a quite good Papas a la huancaina, potatoes with a mildly spicy cheese sauce. But, overall, even at the price of 500 pesos ($5), with beverage, just not worth a stop in, given how many decent Peruvian restaurants are within a couple of blocks.
Cholo con Che I, Anchorena 533 – One of a pair of restaurants flanking the Abasto Shopping mall, this is the original, while “II” is on the opposite side, on Agüero. They do have different menus and focuses, so I’ll give that one a shot on another day. This spot is known primarily for its “Chifa” dishes, the casual Chinese-Peruvian cuisine that came out of Lima’s Chinatown many years ago. And that’s reflected on the dozen or so page menu, with only the first couple of pages dedicated to more classic Peruvian “criollo” fare. Interestingly, they offer two different menú ejecutivos, one criollo and one chifa, the latter being roughly 100 pesos ($1) more expensive. But far more interesting sounding was the option to pick from half a dozen chifa dishes versus a piece of fried fish with lentils or pork adobo with boiled yuca, the two criollo options.
Even the starter soup is an upgrade, a big steaming bowl of rich chicken broth filled with noodles, vegetables, and two whopping chicken filled wontons. Actually one of the best wonton soups I think I’ve had in Buenos Aires.
And, a massive plate for the main course, I ended up taking half of it home. A huge inverted bowl’s worth of excellent fried rice, accompanied by stir fried chicken and vegetables in a salty, alluring, fermented black bean “gravy”. For around 600 pesos, including beverage, the chifa prix fixe, and/or ordering from anything on the menu itself, is clearly the way to go here. The one minor negative, given that most of their customers go for the regular criollo menu at lunch, which is dished up in mere moments from ordering it, the chifa dishes are prepared to order, and take about 20-30 minutes. Two thumbs up, this is definitely a spot to come back to and try more chifa dishes!
Lima Limón, Ecuador 470 – An interesting block in Once, with a trio of Peruvian restaurants, only one of which I’ve tried before, many years ago, and not to acclaim. This one has a sort of clean and sterile feel to it. It’s clearly been remodeled recently, but there’s just not any feeling of warmth to the place.
My initial response was to be taken aback when on entering and sitting, the waiter came over to my table, glowering, and demanded “What do you want here?” When it was clear that I knew that it was a Peruvian restaurant and that I knew the score, asking about the daily menú, and other options, he backed down and relaxed, but not a good start. The menú options didn’t grab me, and I ordered up a leche de tigre from the various options on the regular menu, about a third of which were fish related, a nice sign. Not so nice when, a solid twenty minutes later, he returned to the table, after having served everyone else in the place their menú ejecutivo choices, to announce, “we don’t have any fish”. I’m not sure if he was hoping I’d leave, but that’s the kind of thing you’d think the one waiter in a small restaurant like this, where the menu is a third fish, would know upfront.
I ordered a mixed fried rice. Maybe I was just being stubborn at this point. Maybe I was just damned hungry. But I wasn’t giving him the satisfaction of leaving. And, hey, if you only want to serve the menú ejecutivo at lunchtime, just say so, if that’s the only option (like Brasita above), I’ve got no problem with that. In short order, however, this whopping plate (that oval is roughly 14″ lengthwise) arrived. It’s almost totally rice. There’s some scattered bits of pork, mostly verging on burnt, some dried out pieces of chicken, a couple of shrimp, a few bits of scrambled egg, and some green onion. Definitely the “pobre” version of an arroz chaufa, but then, for this portion, enough to feed three or four people, they’re only charging 750 pesos, slightly over $7. Unfortunately, it just wasn’t very good, mostly tasting of old oil and char. It was edible, but no more than that. I ate a bit, asked for the rest to go, and gave it to a homeless woman and her kids on the street. Hopefully it at least helped fill some stomachs for the day. Pass on this place.
Similar to my recent pizza post, running two to one, bad to good, not a great scorecard. Let’s hope things improve with upcoming ventures!
