Peruvian: El Chullo

Peruvian cuisine is influenced by cultures a variegated as China, Italy, Japan, Spain, West Africa, and the Incas. For example, Peruvian dishes are heavy on rice, which reflects the cuisines of Spain and East Asia. You can also find some pasta dishes. Inca staples like corn, quinoa, yuca date back to the days of the Inca empire.

The menu at El Chullo has all the hits and is, therefore, a good place for novices as well and the growing number of foodies that consider Peruvian food to be the finest in the Americas. Lomo Saltado is a stir-fry with marinated steak strips, french fries, onions, and tomato.

If Peru has a national dish (and according to Google, it does), it’s ceviche. The Japanese aren’t the only ones who eat uncooked fish and leaving a Peruvian restaurant without trying ceviche is like going to an Argentine steakhouse and not eating meat. In a ceviche, the type of fish varies, but it’s usually a white fish, which is marinated in lime juice to kill the bacteria. The result is an overload of citrus, which really does taste great and is less filling. Ceviche is typically an appetizer, but portions at Peruvian restaurants tend to be large. For example, a ceviche is typically served with corn and sweet potato. It goes well with rice as well.

El Chullo offers one of Peru’s most common street foods, which is anticuchos: beef hearts on a stick. If you’re feeling less adventurous but want to try something more uniquely Peruvian, try the helado de lucuma, which is lucuma flavored ice cream. The lucuma looks like a mango but has a custard-like texture similar to durian and a sweet taste similar to maple syrup. While Peruvian food is not the most vegetarian-friendly, the menu at El Chullo has six vegetarian items.