Craving Something Different To Eat While in Buenos Aires?

While having a good time in Buenos Aires, if you are a little fed up with parrillas, if you feel like something is missing after months of devouring juicy steaks or homemade pastas or colorful pizzas, and you are craving something different, then I would recommend you drop by any of the many Peruvian restaurants in the city. My favorite place is a no-frills restaurant called Contigo Perú, on Calle Echeverría 1627 (map), near the train tracks of the Belgrano R train station.

This restaurant is a gustatory jewel. At first you may feel a little lost as you go through the menu that features parihuela (a seafood soup), jalea (an assortment of various foods), chairo (a beef soup) and aguadito de pollo (a light chicken soup). But by studying the accompanying photos in the menu and peeping at the plates of those nearby, you will be able to make up your mind easily. Try the anticuchos (strips of spicy grilled cow heart) and the choros a la chalaca(an interesting variation on a ceviche made with mussels, corn, peas, and lemon juice).

One of the popular dishes here is the chupe de camarones (a tremendous bowl of fiery red broth with tomato and chili pastes, swirls of light cream and squid, mussels and shrimp bobbing on the surface and to top it all off a slightly poached egg).

Other popular dishes include pescado a lo macho (a grilled fish in a cream of squid, shrimp and mussels), a Peruvian-style paella, and arroz chaufa con mariscos (a stir-fried rice with seafood in soy sauce). For the less adventurous, I highly recommend the green noodles with chicken, a simple, delicious dish. The spaghetti comes in a pea-green sauce of spinach, basil and garlic, and the chicken is roasted to tender, juicy perfection.

Granted that this is indeed a Peruvian restaurant, you can find ceviches of mixed seafood, flounder and shrimp, crisp pork, squid and fish rinds, and tamales which you can down with a fizzy pineapple cider or the traditional pisco sour.

To top off your meal, order mazamorra moradafor dessert (a gelatinous fruit compote of purple corn, pieces of pineapple, whole quinces or membrillos, and sprinkles of cinnamon). Definitely a culinary treasure.

After all, variety is the spice of life.