No Reservations

What luck! I made it back to Lima yesterday, picked up some photos, dropped off three more rolls, and this morning... upon what do my eyes gaze? The photo shop - CLOSED - shut down for some sort of infraction! This does not sit well with me. Luckily, and I say "luckily" with my fingers crossed, the sign reads that it will be closed only through Sunday. Yeah, yeah, I know; digital, right? Even the little kids in Pisco looked at me strangely because when I took their picture and they ran up to me, there was no instant image displayed on the back of my camera... "¡Profe, que pasa?" Don´t want to hear it. Well, finally my hands have healed from "el fuego rocoto." Popular opinion had it that lime juice and sugar are the only remedy for my ill. The pharmacist sold me some aloe that didn't work. My brilliant mom, however, had previously sent me an email on the many benefits of bananas, so I rubbed the inside of a banana peel on my hands; that provided some relief. Tonight I have begun preparations for Lima Thanksgiving Numero Dos. And, yes, we do have pumpkin. Earlier today, I sought out a cebicheria successfully. I had a ceviche with black conch and white fish... not bad. Well, toward the end of my meal, three local girls came in and sat two tables away. They ordered a tall cerveza to share, then began giggling and flirting. One made the old "salud!" (toast) gesture, so I reciprocated with my nearly empty glass of pisco sour. Now I realize that an international man of mystery like myself is quite interesting to the average Peruana, but they kept gesturing for me to join them. Luckily, I looked up in my international guide to etiquette what is appropriate in such a situation, and I concluded that it is normally polite for the person doing the urging to come up to the urgee to ask if the latter would care to join the former. After a bit of cross-referencing, I concluded that it would be rude of me to resist such obvious displays of comehitherness so as to help the urgers to save face. Well they were drunk. One way to discern this is the non-stop toasting and clinking of the glasses. There are other ways to tell, but this was enough evidence. You know, it´s difficult enough for me to understand sober people speaking Spanish to me... Anyways, I almost finished what was left of my pisco sour after about the sixteenth "salud!" when the most forward of the three offered to pour me a glass of beer. I politely refused, due to my obligation to prepare said Thanksgiving meal extravaganza and, oh yeah, it was only three o´clock and these girls were trashed. I indicated that I still had a sip left of my tasty beverage. I didn't consult the manual, but I do believe I was justified in politely walking away when the girl poured my drink on the table so she could fill it with beer. I've seen this situation before in my travels; it´s called "Let´s get the rich American to buy us lots of drinks," and I wasn't playing. Kind of like going back to the reservation, I´m told. Next thing you know you are stranded outside of a club with no money, no map, and no way home in the rain sleeping sitting up at a gas station until the first bus at 6 AM. (Sorry, Spain flashback.)

Salam... er... Jose can you see?

Unfortunately, my three rolls of photos were locked in a Kodak store in Lima. Evidently, some people do not work on Sundays, and I had to return to Pisco. To be honest, I considered not returning, you know heading out into some undiscovered territory, but I did not want my colleagues to think Americans were soft... plus somebody said something about having a wine club on Sunday. Anyway, I am here in Pisco, 2005 Malbec in hand, back to see what I can do. I got back around dinner time, and everyone was heading out, so I am here on the computer... big lunch of tacu tacu. What is tacu tacu you ask? Well, it is a very popular dish in Lima made with fried rice and beans all kind of tossed together, served a few ways, but I like it with seafood. Then it is finished with some sort of gravy. Mmm! My beverage pair was chicha morada, a purple non-alcoholic beverage made from Peruvian purple corn. Very refreshing.

Yesterday was a great day. I was able to wash my laundry for the first time. The weather was sunny and perfect. I spent the afternoon in Miraflores walking along the cliff overlooking the ocean and taking photos. "Miraflores" is the perfect name for this district of Lima, because this walk along the cliff has a long garden of "flores" (flowers) which makes for a perfect stroll and some great photo ops if you, say, are into nature photography... or I guess if you have a date, but I think you all know better. Hey, so anyway, I think I got some great shots... but alas, they are in Lima (4 hours away). Later, I got really hungry, so I made my way down to sea level by taxi and found Restaurante Costa Verde. I will have to consult with my Top Twelve Favorite Restaurants in the World list, but this one is definitely knocking at the door: right on the ocean, nearly all white interior with windows all around, attentive professional service, a great view of paragliders overhead, the best Pisco Sour I have had... very nice. Ceviche was good, but I have had better. Anyway I enjoyed myself thoroughly (Sorry, Brian if this is ruining your affection for the chow hall). Ooh, they even have little flags in the foyer for you to bring to your table to represent you country, and they have servers available to speak five different languages. I picked the flag for Ethiopia just for fun, but nobody came to help me despite my pleas in Amharic for "service!", so I grabbed the red white and blue.

OK, here is my list so far...

1. Il Latini (Firenze, Italia) - no menus, plenty of wine, dine with total strangers, the best total experience.
2. La Cantinetta (Barolo, Italia) - out of this world, but simple, Piemontese cuisine. Owner Maurelio treated me like a member of the family.
3. Lucy's (San Bernardino, CA) - my start in restaurants. Good Mexican food. Friendly service.
4. Antica Bottega del Vino (Verona, Italia and NYC) - 80 wines by the glass listed on a chalkboard in the bar. Amazing selection... food was good too.
5. Harry's Bar (Venezia, Italia) - Have a REAL Bellini cocktail where it was created... oh, yeah, you're on the Grand Canal... in Venice!
6. Pasta Mia (Washington, D.C) - Chef/Owner does all the cooking. Fresh pasta. Affordable, respectable wine list. Cozy and fun.
7. Public (NoLIta, NYC) - a culinary treasure and adventure in fusion that pulls flavors from Italy, Spain, Australia, Ecuador, Asia... consistantly delicious!
8. Zaytinya (Washington, D.C.) - Greek/Lebanese/Turkish small plates, hip bar, and fascinating wines you've never had before
9. Jaleo (Washington, D.C.) - Spanish tapas and more Spanish wines than you ever knew existed. Iron Chef winner Jose Andres. Me.
10. Grimaldi's Pizzeria (Brooklyn, NYC) - No delivery, no credit cards, no slices... great pizza.
11. Jose Antonio (Lima, Peru) - Upscale traditional Peruvian cuisine that's cozy instead of pretentious. Wonderful ambiance and professional service to show you the best of Peru.
12. Lupa Osteria Romana (NYC) - Molto Mario's restaurant for the rest of us has fresh homemade delicious pastas, a lively atmosphere, and, in my experience, a much better value than Babbo.

Brilliant!

There´s nothing like traveling in a big bus of strangers watching a hijacking movie. I guess it´s different than it would be on a plane. But the Peruvians did seem to get a kick out of Wesley Snipes in the subtitled Passenger 57 yesterday. I´m thinking of bringing Speed for the next trip.

 

Yesterday, I thought of a brilliant idea: make my own special project as photojournalist for the day and finish early since I wanted to make it to Lima before dark. I am glad I got this opportunity to get a break doing what I really like to do. Unfortunately (for them), I was still signed up with my crew for a demolition job, so they were a man short. Later I stopped by to take their pictures, and there was a bit of awkwardness. I don´t feel so bad though, since the day before they sent me on concrete duty (no mixer, just me) with the barefooted bricklaying Aussies. Mixing concrete with a shovel and six wheel-barrels of sand is not fun. My photos are going to be ready later today, so I will save the findings of that endeavor for the next post.

I think it´s time for ceviche. Stay tuned...

Rediscovering Peru

Today is a near-perfect day in Lima, Peru. I arrived late last night with an immediate shock to my confidence in that Pablo was nowhere to be found at the arrival gate at the airport. If you are not familiar with my travel habits, I tend to leave certain things to chance while preparing immensely for other situations. For instance, I have my own canned pumpkin and cranberries for my Lima Thanksgiving I plan to cook, two cell phones, and of course my waiter´s corkscrew (I won´t expose any other details, because, well that would be stupid). On the other hand, Pablo (my driver prone to 80s and 90s rock) was an integral piece off the puzzle in that I had no contact information for my gracious host family (other than him) and potentially no ride from this airport where swarms of people congregate - even at close to midnight - to offer me a ride (some legitimately, some otherwise). But, really, what is travel if not a tightrope walk? Luckily, I had stored his cell number, and we were listening to Aerosmith in no time.

The Salazars were up to greet me, and I informed them that my first full meal should include ceviche... and it certainly did. This afternoon, we went to El Villano. Driving in Lima is always an adventure - little overcrowded buses called combis whiz by looking like passengers are going to fly out at any time, the underabundance of traffic lights and signs, and today in a small street close to the restaurant, we drove by kids performing a public stoning. The victim seemed to be getting away on foot, but what upset me even more was the one boy with the machete. Luckily they had no problem with us driving through their makeshift public execution site. Ceviche sure was good!