Dining at Central in Lima, Peru
On the last day of traveling in Peru, Adam and I were fortunate enough to be able to dine at Central Restaurante–ranked Number 4 in the World and Number 1 in Latin America. Upon discovering that Lima is known for its gastronomy, I found the best restaurant and decided to make reservations. We reserved 8 weeks ahead for this dinner. Living in NYC, there are plenty of restaurants with amazing food. In fact, the Number 2 restaurant in the world is across the street from where I work. However, the price per person there is about double Central. Though Central was expensive, in NYC it would be considered a bargain.
We arrived an hour early in case of traffic. The door is practically hidden and we had to wait until promptly 7:45 to be welcomed inside. We were the first table to be seated and the staff was ready. Bottled water, our first cocktail pairing, and first course were out in minutes.
The menu is called “Elevations” based on the ingredients found at the different elevations in Peru. There are 17 courses and 11 different wine/drink pairings.
Course 1 is called “Rock Molluscs” from -10 meters.
This is Sea Snail, Mussel, Sargassum, and Limpet.
No, I can’t tell you what all those ingredients are and yes, we jumped right into sea snail. Don’t be fooled by the fancy plates they serve on: only the crunchy green chip and its contents are edible. I wish I could remember what it tasted like but I know it was good.
As soon as we lifted the Rock Mollusc course from its plate…Course 2 was arriving.
Course 2: Desert Plants 180 meters
Haurango, Cactus, Sweet Potato Leaf, Loche
Starting with the bite on the left: Tuna Ice Cream which is not “tuna” the fish that we are imagining but rather the prickly pear cactus fruit. This bite was almost breaded on the outside and then suddenly cold and sweet.
Bite 2 in the center was crunchy and airy. Sweet-ish but a little salty as well.
On the far right are two Sweet Potato Leaves, flash fried to perfect. These tasted like eating a sweet potato chip. Why don’t they sell these in stores?
We tried to eat slowly since every time we lifted a piece of food off the plate, the servers were right there to take it away!
Course 3: Lofty Anders 3500 meters
Potato, Tree Tomato, Alpaca, Muna Mint
The potatoes are the oblong black pieces hidden amongst the rocks and sticks on the serving dish. The potato is crusted in ashes which is why the skin is black. In the round dish in front is a dipping sauce which contains the remaining ingredients.
I need to learn how to make sauces. There was a crunchy topping there to the green tinted sauce. I couldn’t get enough of it on my potato.
Course 4 is one of my favorites! “Thick Stems” 3500 meters
Olluco, Chincho, Onion, Field Mustard
Olluco are the reddish potato-type food in the triangle on the right. These are not display only. At this point, we are realizing we got through 4 courses in such a short time! We try to stall but the food is so good!
My personal favorite of the small bites was this crunchy Olluco bite on top. It was fried potato and onion strings with a bit of the mustard in the center. Potato, onion, salt, light mustard = Amazing. To finish this course was a sip of Olluco soup which was creamy and delicious as you would expect a potato soup to be.
Course 5: River Scales 680 meters
River Shrimp, Doncella, Achiote, Huampo
Don’t be fooled by the fancy serving dish again. The only edible piece here is the shiny yellow shrimp wrapped in the green leaf. I remember this course to be good, (as everything was) and a nice move to a lighter item after the fried potato. It was sweeter than expected and even a bit slimy. We were unsure about this item, debating taking it in one bite or two. Adam took it in two bites and it was worth it. I wish I hadn’t a second bite once I gulped it down in one piece.
Where were we?
Ah yes, 5 delicious courses already consumed at Central and Adam and I try to slow down the pace of our food. We want to savor the food experience of a lifetime. We purposefully watch the two tables seated after us and try to let them pull ahead in the 17 course race.
Course 6: Forest Cotton 300 meters
Churo, Gamitana, Pacae, Llanten
Forest Cotton is an appropriate title for this course. The server did suggest an order for the multiple bite courses and with this one the bit size white pieces were first. The white “cotton-y” pieces taste just that way but with a sweet filling inside. The mouthfeel of cotton was apparent though and not my favorite.
“Llanten” is the leave which is wrapped around a type of fish. I’ll be honest, I can’t quite remember anything specific about this bit because now it is merging with the previous course in my memory. The green shot was tasty, definitely not as scary as the dark green color might imply.
Course 7: High Jungle 2800 meters
Macambo, Cassava, Sachaculantro, Air Potato
AKA Bread and butter!!!!
The air potato is on the left, as crispy as a potato chip but thinner and lighter than any “air popped” chip I have ever had. The server recommended tasting each of the two dipping sauces with each of the three breads. The one on the far side of the picture was sweet with an easy dipping consistency. The closer of the sauces was actually burnt butter…or something of that nature…and it was SO DAMN GOOD.
The middle bites are more of a corn base bread which one is missing because I had already dove right in. The right side was the most bread-y bread and of course I tried it with the sweeter sauce but I continued to use the bread as an excuse to eat the butter. This course remained on the table for the rest of the meal as we moved into the big courses….
Course 8: Marine Soil 0 meters
Sea Urchin, Pepino Melon, Razor Clam, Seaweed
Well, the first of the big courses was a scary one. I wasn’t too nervous before I tasted it…everything had been delicious so far! I like melon, clam, and seaweed but I had never had sea urchin that I remember. I’m an adventurous eater, I didn’t think twice before I took a bite, careful to get a bit of everything from the plate onto my fork.
But alas, sea urchin is not for me. Too fishy. This is the first and only course that neither of us finished. Adam went in for a second bite before also confirming that we are no sea urchin people. I tried to eat around it which only confirmed my suspicion that sea urchin was the fishy culprit of this unpleasant flavor.
Course 9: Tree Skins 1200 meters
Avocado, Huacatay, Kaninua, Macre
Yum, yum, yum. But of course, this is coming from a girl who eats an avocado a day.
Eager to put a new taste in my mouth, I take a big first bite. Underneath the crunchy brown "tree skin" that you see, is a moist avocado and sauce which I assume is the huacatay since it was sweet with a slight hint of mint.
The white “skins” were from the ocean in some way because I definitely tasted fishiness there. The small bit of brown quinoa on top added a new texture to the soft avocado contrasted with the crunchy skins.
Course 10: Land of Corn
Kculli, Purple, Chulpi, Piscorunto
This may have been my favorite course but really it is so hard to choose a favorite when everything is amazing. From the picture, this looks like candy and though I remember the glass looking pieces to be both sweet and salty, they were not as hard as they appear. The straw on top is (I believe) like a blown sugar except more fittingly it is blown corn syrup.
Hidden behind those walls are three small corn nuggets soaking up that delicious corn sauce. I always knew corn was amazing and delicious but here it is incredible how there is a whole dish made primarily with corn and yet doesn’t taste like any corn I have eaten. This course is heavier than the others but what a delicious blend of sweet and salty.
Hope you aren’t filling up yet :)
The last hour at Central, dinner experience of a lifetime. We are successfully behind the two couples that were seated after us, and I believe its around now that I start to feel really buzzed.
Course 11: Colors of Amazonia 450 meters
Paiche, Yacon, Guanabana, Lemongrass
This course was not particularly memorable. Paiche is the fish, which is the “meat” of this course but it is flanked by other “cool” items like the guanabana fruit and the potato like vegetable yacon. Its almost like a ceviche with no lime or onion. I guess then its not ceviche, but the way it was prepared evoked that similarity.
At this point, I wanted to move on from the chilled fish courses and was looking for a bit more meat. I’m accustomed to my own wine dinners which are very meat heavy! (American Steakhouse vs. #1 Restaurant in Peru) I appreciate the subtlety, I promise.
Course 12: Coastal Harvest 20 meters
Scallops, Yellow Chili Peppers, Borage, Tumbo
The fancy way to serve soup or any sauce, it to pour it table side. This dish arrived with the brown liquid in a cup on the side that the server poured in a circular motion into the bowl.
Scallops are not always my favorite but this was an amazing preparation. I love when different textures are combined and I believe part of my dislike of scallops has to do with texture. The crunchy white topping complimented the soft scallop feeling and the brown sauce was delicious. Tumbo is a type of passion fruitwhich gave this dish sweet and salty characteristics.
Course 13: Sea Coral-10 meters
Octopus, Crab, Squid, Sea Lettuce
The amount I have grown to love octopus has surprised me. What stands out to me in this course is the servers saying “sealettoos” in such a strong accent that Adam and I had to check the menu to see that the green sauce was made from Sea-Lettuce.
Another combination of textures with the crunchy brown pieces on top. The most amazing part of this course is also that I know all the ingredients without googling anything. :)
The octopus was so meaty it didn’t even taste like a fish. This heavier, salty course was one of the best but perfectly sized in these small plates. I have only ever eaten octopus as an appetizer but I imagine any more than what was on my plate here, could get to be too much.
Course 14: Low Andes Mountains 1800 meters
Pork, Black Mashwa, Panca Chili Pepper, Kiwicha
I think I have had about 10 favorite courses so far but this is the one that is actually my favorite!!! I am a carnivore, meat lover, but most especially when it comes to pork.
This was a small short rib covered in delicious sauce with delicious little toppings. I didn’t want this piece to end but it was so good I wanted to gobble it up. I think I made it about 3.5 bites. The part that looks like it may be crunchy is not really. It is the kiwicha which is a type of amaranth (grain). I have to assume the black mashwa is the sauce which was so savory yet just the right hint of sweetness to pair with the perfectly cooked pork. I could have had 3 of these little pieces, even after 13 courses.
Course 15: Humid Green 3700 meters
Caigua, Cushuro, Sweet Lemon, Chaco Clay
This would be a sort of semifreddo or even the type or palate cleansing sorbet you would get between courses. I remember this to be very fresh and very green tasting. The lime green pieces were almost ice and the light green piece was also cold, but much softer.
The black chaco clay on the plate was not overpowering but it gave this course a certain taste that was juxtaposed against the light green flavors.
Course 16: Amazonian White 400 meters
Cacao, Chirimoya, Bahuaja Nut, Taperiba
I only needed to see “cacao” to know that I would love this course. It looks like chocolate ice cream with whipped cream topped with coconut and flowers. The flavors were so much more complex than that. Plus, these items are all topping a fruit on the bottom.
Lets be honest, at this point, I had also had 11 drink tastes. Take a look at the photo below and you will understand why I know this course was delicious, but my descriptor words were far from my mind.
I digress…one final course remains.
Course 17: Medicinals and Plant Dyes 3050 meters
Congona, Matico, Malva, Pilipili
This white dish that looks like a mountain of powdered sugar is actually just a frozen plate meant to look like the snowy mountains. If my memory serves me, the cubes were bready bites with a crunchy crust. The pieces that look like chocolate are indeed chocolate with some of these greens mixed in there (matico, malva, etc.).
This final drink was very memorable. Its looking very green and a bit nerve-wracking to drink after 17 courses of food and 11 drinks but the waiter says it is meant to help you digest… I go for it before Adam and I am amazed–I have never tasted anything so refreshing before. There is no distinct or strong taste but something about it leaves the mount feeling very cleansed and complete.
To complete the meal we received a lovely little gift of a book whose pages are made from the ingredients in the meal. And finally, we got a picture in the kitchen with the legendary Virgilio Martinez himself. What a night to remember.
