The Chef Speaks

In a country famous for its food, its most famous chef says that his is not the best restaurant in Lima. Gastón Acurio says there are 4 or 5 restaurants that should be on the best restaurants in the world with him. We have never eaten at his flagship restaurant, Astrid & Gastón, which is near where we live in a totally nondescript building down a side street in Miraflores, but we plan to eat there soon. We've eaten many times at Tanta (bread in Quechua) and I love the comfortable feel of this upscale cafe/panaderia, one of which is in easy walking distance of our house through the lovely Parque de los Olivos. La Mar, which specializes in seafood, serves awesome food and is a really fun place for lunch. We ate there once last year and I've been meaning to get back there. But then there are always so many new places to try that we just haven't made it yet. His Pasquale Hnos franchisesare said to offer great sandwiches but we've never tried them. Panchita, an anticucheria, is a couple of years old and I don't even know where it is, but it's somewhere around here and I definitely need to check it out! Apparently Gastón has plans to open several new and different types of restaurants. We need to hurry up and experience the ones that already exist!