After four days of humble, homely and, yes, rather bland cooking on Lake Titicaca I was very excited about my arrival in Cusco. With several recommendations from a fellow foodie friend in my pocket I was ready to be a bad tourist once again and embrace all the western cuisine the city had to offer.
First stop: Jack’s Café. This was no.1 on Emma’s list for exactly the same reason it's no.1 on mine; sometimes when you have been on the road for a long time you just want something that reminds you of home. When you are done with llama and alpaca steaks, deep-fried everything and more rice and potatoes than you can shake a fork at, coming across great coffee, an all day breakfast menu and café food to rival Sydney and Melbourne can be a truly restorative experience.
The BLT, which I had on my first visit, would certainly rival any in Sydney. The bacon was ridiculously crispy – probably deep-fried but who cares? It was fantastic! The roast tomatoes were plentiful and full of flavour. Homemade mayo was rich and creamy (if a little scarce). The bread was thick cut, homemade and not sweet; a miracle in this part of the world. My only complaint was that I had to order avocado as an extra (in Sydney it is almost always included in what we now call a BLAT) but, hey, I got a lot for my extra two soles and it was unblemished and flawlessly soft and ripe.
Not that I needed anything else, but could you say no to this:
I am not a sweet tooth but I saw one at the next table and had to have it. The thing that amazed me about this brownie was that it was actually warm and gooey inside. How on earth do they warm the centre without melting the icing and dislodging the perfectly positioned walnut? I was too busy demolishing it to bother asking.
Most people will tell you that a trip to Jack’s is not complete without ordering the gordo breakfast and, if you have the same quality or quantity of hangovers as the average tourist in Cusco, you are likely to find it most satisfying. Nonetheless, my favourite dish hands down was the beans and cheese tortilla with guacamole, sour cream, spicy salsa and sweet corn and red pepper salad. As good a hangover cure as any breakfast.
And if you still need convincing, then take a look at this:
If you have been to Peru you will understand why that is a deal breaker.
Emma’s next top tip was Baco for pork ribs. Of course they serve other things too but these were the reason she kept going back and back … and back. She went back so many times in fact that towards the end she was greeted with “Hello. Pork ribs?” rather than the usual “Good evening. Table for two?”
The ribs were surprisingly tender, the rendered fat melting deliciously into the sweet and tangy marinade making for a delightfully sticky, finger-licking experience; KFC could learn a lesson here.
An antipasto of meats was rather disappointing with sausages reminiscent of the bland baby bangers you get for aeroplane breakfasts, but the plato de mariscos (seafood tasting plate) had some of the best BBQ prawns I have tried outside Australia and some deliciously tender squid lathered in garlic butter.
Unfortunately, the scallops and octopus were a bit overcooked, but both were accompanied by lovely sauces which compensated somewhat – the scallops in sweet soy and the octopus in a rich, herbaceous tomato and roast pepper sauce.
My first visit to Baco was accompanied by several bottles of wine so I was not sure that I could give a proper appraisal without a repeat visit… well it is a good excuse anyway. So I went back to Baco a few days later with the intention of dirtying my fingers on some more of those sweet, sticky ribs. That is until I saw this:
Crackling pork belly with sweet chilli apple sauce and sweetly roasted quince. Sadly, it was not as good as it sounded or looked. Sweet was right, far too sweet in the case of the quince which would have been better with vanilla ice cream. The contrast of sweet with the salty pork should work beautifully, but the fruit itself ought to retain a little of its natural tartness especially when coated in a thick caramel. The apple, on the otherhand, was fabulous; a chunky puree more savoury than it was sweet seasoned with garlic and a hint of chilli.
They also do pizza which, judging by the mini-margherita they served as an amuse bouche, is better than most in this part of the world, but by no means exceptional.
Baco is sister restaurant to Cicciolina tapas bar and restaurant. I went there for the tapas but they also have a formal restaurant with an extensive menu of starters, mains and desserts.
The tapas are a mix of traditional and modern, sometimes with a Peruvian twist. For example, the combination of seafood with sweet potato on the fried prawn and sweet potato skewers is a local tradition, but the addition of wasabi mayonnaise made it contemporary. I am not so sure that sweet potato was the best companion for the prawns but the wasabi mayo added real bite.
Local cured ducks breast thinly sliced like Iberico ham was served on rounds of baguette with a classic butifarra salad. Looking purely at their individual merits both were fantastic but the salad, which was packed full of herbs, chilli and fresh lime, completely overwhelmed the cured duck so much so that you wouldn't know it was there if you hadn't ordered it.
More Spanish in origin, the anchovies and piquillo peppers with manchego cheese were delightful, if a little stingy on the manchego. It would have worked better if they had used boquerones (white anchovies) rather than the salted ones which were too strong.
Following this quite large plate of tapas I went for a starter as a main course: BBQ octopus with a Mediterranean salsa. It turned out to be the same octopus I had sampled on the tasting plate at Baco, however this time it was perfectly cooked – soft, tender and slightly crisp at the tips with a delicious charcoal flavour.
The salsa, made from tomatoes, roast peppers, garlic and lots of olive oil, was wonderful but a little rich in such large quantities. This could have been tempered by the rocket salad had it not been smothered in an additional dressing.
My last stop was Korma Sutra Indian restaurant. Indian cuisine may have originated in the east, but we westerners do love a good curry; in the 1990s chicken tikka masala (invented in Scotland) was referred to as “a true British national dish”. Korma Sutra’s other outlets are in London and Manchester and the chefs are decidedly Caucasian so I think it not out of place on this list.
This was another of Emma’s recommendations, this time for the lightest, most onion-packed bhajis known to man. They were certainly better than any other bhajis I have tried; herbaceous and mildly spiced with just enough batter to hold the onions together and pan-fried rather than deep.
They were also the largest onion bhajis known to man and, as a result, I offered my second to the couple next to me who had been eyeing them up when they arrived. I did so to make room for my main course which turned out to be a bad idea since the chicken jalfrezi was an appalling rendition not even remotely resembling any I had ever tried before and I’ve had many.
The couple had more luck; the girl was practically orgasming over the lamb rogan josh, and it is on account of their experience and Emma’s that I still feel it safe to recommend the restaurant. Just don't order the jalfrezi.
Lin Yutang said "No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow." Food is a home comfort you can have without returning home.
If you are only travelling for a short time and do not reach the point where you have had it with Peruvian cuisine, there are plenty of local options. But weary travellers I am sure will find, like Emma and myself, that a taste of home can do wonders for the body and mind.
