Up until this very point, the whole Central American food blog was a complete farce constructed entirely on only the possibility of making back to this forgotten region. But yea verily, it has come to pass! I made my landing at Juan Santamaria International Airport on Juan Santamaria day, no less, marking the blog “OFFICIAL” in big bright, (and figurative) red letters across the top.
And what was the first thing I did in Costa Rica, aside from telling three thousand taxi drivers that I didn’t need a ride? I ate…a lot. Fernando and I jammed all of my stuff into the back of the car and headed to Machu Picchu, one of the spots on my “I have to eat there as soon as I get back” list, for a good homey Peruvian lunch. Fernando, always the first one to order entirely too much food for everyone at the table, ordered almost as soon as we sat and when the whole thing was said and done I was looking at a mountain of Causa de Camerones, Lomito Salteado, Corvina Estofada and a bowl of chile sauce that was so hot it would make your nose hairs split and curl as soon as you caught a whiff. I can get away with saying there is no doubt that the potato’s origins are Peruvian through and through. They’re in absolutely everything. The Causa de Camerones for example, is the potato salad your grandmother never could make but always wanted to, studded with pink little shrimp and smooth chunks of ripe avocado. Topped off with pungent pickled onions, it was enough to make me sneak a few tears into my tiny little napkin and then sip my beer to console my poor heart-broken self. Lomo Salteado? Yeah that’s like a Peruvian beef stir fry with french fries tossed in at the last second, causing me to think that I am, because of my overwhelming urge to shout and dance at the sight of this dish, quite possibly of Inca descent.
Overall, I’ve had a fairly pedestrian food day aside from the heated discussion as to what Costa Rican “mondongo” stew is. All I know is that if you have to debate the origin of the meat, if it actually is meat at all, then i need to belly up and give it a go.
Cuba, by the way, is happening for sure. We leave early early on Wednesday morning so by lunch time I’ll be buying black market tomatoes and trying to back up my claims for knowing a good pig’s face recipe. Stay tuned.
