Dine on Us!

When I was contacted by Foodbuzz to attend a blogger dinner on their dime, I couldn't say no ;) We met at Macchu Picchu for an evening of Peruvian cuisine this past weekend. I wasn't quite sure what to expect, as the online menu was not translated and I've never been to Peru. My fellow diners included Caitlin, Tia, Mark and Finance Foodie. A very interesting group of folks, their tales of food and travels made me want to schedule my next trip!

I'll do my best to describe what you I got to try, but go check out Caitlin's review here--she knew what she was talking about!! First up was a Pisco Sour, a regional favorite that I had to try... sorry no picture. We started with some appetizers- Fried Yucca with a cheese sauce, (huge) Corn on the Cob with a mild white cheese and a Ceviche w/Shrimp and Fish.

Yuca a la Huancaina

Choclo Peruano con Queso

Ceviche Mixto (i think that's the version we had)

Yucca was another first for me, but it kind of reminded me of a potato. The corn had very large kernals and was a bit starch-ier than that which I'm used to, but it was tasty, as was the cheese served with it. The ceviche was also pretty good. I got a kick out of our server, who, upon seeing us start taking pictures of the food, said she would've brought out a prettier piece of corn!

At this point they also brought out these...
Which looked like roasted corn kernals. While the fresh kernals were good with the slight starchiness, I didn't care much for the roasted ones as this made them very dry.

For my main course, I went for a dish that was shrimp and spinach wrapped in chicken, served with a mass of spinach mashed potatoes and some steamed green beans. I'm going to spare you the aweful picture of this that I took, but I actually quite enjoyed it. Not sure how "peruvian" the dish is, but that's ok! While I did like most of the dishes up to this point, I must admit I was underwhelmed at the flavors of the dishes, they weren't very strongly seasoned. Whether this is normally the case in Peru, I only wish I could tell you!

Luckily we all went home with some Alfajores. Sorry I didn't get a picture of these either, but think buttery shortbread cookies with dulce de leche sandwiched in between. Umm, yeah, fantastic. I had one at the table, one when I got home, then quickly gave them to a friend to enjoy so I didn't have to tempt fate :) Thanks again to Caitlin and Foodbuzz for an enjoyable evening out!!