Omnomnomness in Cuzco (a rather boring but maybe useful post)

A few of the usual notes before you start:

1- Many people think backpackers should be eating street food and the cheapest eat-like-a-local options only.

While that's very respectable if that's what you want, I will say the one thing on which I don't mind spending big money while traveling is eating. 

I love eating, and I love eating well. We did try a lot of "like a local" options in Peru and we liked quite a few, but what I recommend here is what I considered to be the best quality food in town (also, be aware that the hygiene and water safety standards of the street food might get you more acquainted with your hostel toilet than you ever dreamed to be, so...)  

 2- This is not really much about the adventure side, but more about some of the places we'de recommend in the city. I was inspired by a student of mine who's traveling to Cusco in a week and made me remember of all the stupendous food epiphanies I had while being there.

3- Both "Cuzco" and "Cusco" are correct, so I randomly choose one or the other depending on my mood.

We'll return to our normal posts after all this YUM.

(first attempt at pretentious title graphic)

Of the many things we loved about Cuzco, the most relevant to my life was the food.

Some of the best restaurants in the universe (yes, the universe) happen to be in the Imperial City, and we were lucky to be there to enjoy them.

The places we liked (without exception) have a fair range of vegetarian options.

Also featuring: good places that are not necessarily the best in the universe.

We had Pisco sour at 90% of our nights out.

° Heavenly food for the starving backpacker:

 On our first night, us and a French girl we met on the bus went looking for something to fill our bellies.

We were starving because (as usual) we had been told the bus trip from Puno to Cusco should take 6 hours, when it actually took around 9-10-ish.

The surroundings of Plaza de Armas looked packed with little and big eating places, but we were fascinated by a completely unexpected sight:

a sign that read La casa del kebab.

Nothing new here, the three of us had tried falafel pockets before... but it felt beautiful to have something as tasty, as quick, as cheap and easy going right in the centre of the city.

Everything at this place is yummy and spot on, the only missing thing being a lemony yogurt sauce (the garlic sauce is really nice but a bit too much after a while for my taste).

°Our comfy spot:

On the street Tecsecocha, only two blocks from Plaza de Armas, we found a place with an Australian flag.

It took us a while to go there, thinking "we can have aussie food any day at home", but after a couple of days of hardcore Peruvian food (which I intensely adore) we gave it a go. It's called "Los perros".

The owner was lovely to us and spoke very good English. We got beautiful wontons, some sort of veggie curry-ish stir fry, and pretty good drinks, sitting on comfortable couches and enjoying the nicely relaxed and warm atmosphere.

Bonus point: It's warm inside, which is very desirable in the freezing nights the altitude gives you.

Comfort food and candle light.

°Sweets:

 I crave savory (and lemony) way more often than I crave sweet, but when we did crave sweets Cuzco didn't dissapoint us.

Both the bakery "La Valeriana" in Avenida El Sol and the Chocomuseo (museum of chocolate) did wonders for us.

The first one has a great selection of cakes and pies (also good, big empanadas), plus nice coffee and tea. And the decor, dishes and cutlery would satisfy the hipsterest hipster from the depths of Brisbane's West End.

White and fancy. My pretentious post title picture is also from this place.

Mint tea with fresh mint leaves.
Soothing and  hipster , all in the same cup.

Chocomuseo, on the other hand, is a tiny free museum where you can learn the history of chocolate and try some different kinds of chocolate and even a chocolate tea.

And later you're tempted into having a chocolate making lesson, or buying some of the gorgeous-smelling merchandise, or just try some hot chocolate.

 Treat yourself, the experience is worth its weight in chocolate (btw, have you noticed how many times I managed to write the word "chocolate" in just three sentences?).

The outside of the Chocomuseo.

Way before you get to the entrance the smell of
chocolate pulls your nose like in those old cartoons.

Chocolate beans drying in the sun.

After learning its history, we indulged in some
creamy, frothy, wonderful hot choc.

Chey had the Spanish version and I had the Aztec, that comes with honey,
milk and chili powder (beware: very hot chili powder!)

°Coffee and breakfast: 

At the beginning we had coffe at Capuccino. It's really sweet to look at the Plaza from the balcony, plus the coffe is nice and they make scrambled eggs (I know they also make cakes, and they look very tempting, but the truth is we never tried them).

But then we found The meeting place. It's a charity run cafe, and the profit goes to help Peruvian kids, which is pretty awesome already.

As if that wasn't enough, they make waffles worthy of the fat soul me and Chey both have, and super yummy coffee combinations. AND they have a sweet, fat cat.

 The only downside is they're not open all day (or Sundays at all), so it's mainly for breakfast.

So much deliciousness in just one breakfast.
(I'm opening maple syrup, not a beer)

°Not Peruvian but still amazing: 

On the street Tandapata, in the cute (and touristy) neighbourhood of San Blas, there are two international cuisine gems.

Korma Sutra, the Indian, has perfect curries and both spicy and non-spicy options, which kept both me and Chey happy.

Beer and appetizers. It seems like we were too
hungry for main course photos.

Tacomania, just a few metres away from Korma Sutra, honours its name with a short but delicious variety of Mexican food.

 Spicy and really nice and warm to fight the cold of the Cusco nights. The margaritas are also very good.

One downside: coriander (my arch enemy).
Silver lining:they leave it big enough to be removed.

°Peruvian, my precious, my love:

 I don't care if it isn't the most vegetarian friendly cuisine in the world; Peruvian is my second favorite (only surpassed by Thai).

 The variety of spices, the fresh produce, the Andean feel and the lime-ness just makes me want to walk back to Perú when I remember it.

When we think about Peruvian food, now we'll always think of Gaston Acurio, the local chef who put Perú on the fusion food map of the world.

He has quite a few restaurants in a couple cities along the country, two of them in Cuzco.

Chicha is the fancy alternative. We went there on a sort of "date night". And then we went again (and then again, in Arequipa).

 I can't remember if we were celebrating something, but I do remember the soul filling food and the awesome sours (we had Pisco and Chicha morada* sour).

And I also remember how a waiter walked by us and put the napkins on our laps, as if he was our dad, which was both confusing and hilarious.

Chey did fel like having a heap of snacks afterwards, because -as in many fancy places- the servings are not huge. I didn't care. When we left the place, my heart was singing and I had the feeling of floating a couple of centimetres above the ground.

*Chicha morada is a popular Peruvian drink made with purple corn. The traditional way of making alcoholic chicha was having old ladies chew on corn and then spit it out into water to let it brew. We trust our Chicha had no spit in it, but if it did it was very nice tasting.

Fancy meal and fancy drinks. while looking
distinctively not fancy.

NOM.

The other Gaston Acurio place in Cusco, and a TRA (that's us) favourite is Papachos. A burger house.

What? Burgers? Aren't you a vegetarian? I can hear some people think.

Well, this delightful place has not one, but plenty of veggie burger options. They are all different too (beetroot and quinoa patty, squash and sweet peas...) and they are all ridiculously good.

 I strongly recommend my favorite, Miss Cusco.

The sours are great, and so are the juices. We eat here more times than I can remember, but less times than we should have.

Also: the servings are HUGE, and every burger comes with a side of
fried sweet potatoes, onion rings, or normal fries. And spicy sauce. 

While we waited, this fabulous work of art happened.

Lovely veggie burger.

Last but not least,Cafe  Morena has the sweetest waitresses I've come across, the best sours I tried in Peru, the cutest presentation, and don't get me started on the food.

I couldn't decide between this or Papachos as my favorite. Don't make me.

More of the new wave of Peruvian fusion, this great restaurant has a WONDERFUL vegetable ceviche (though all the other options I tried are equally tasty), and finger-licking good desserts.

Cutely decorated passion fruit sour.

Quinoa chaufa.

Veggie ceviche, causitas de papa, Pisco sour.
Yes to all.

Picarones, a sort of fried donut that Peruvians eat with honey.
We did try the street version of this and it was just as good.

To end this post I'll say I'm very happy I wrote it after dinner and with a belly full of beer, because otherwise I'd be drooling all over my keyboard remembering all that beautiful food.

I'm no food critic, but I cook and eat a lot. This are our preferences, and recommendations and I hope that if you're in Cusco you try them (at least a few) and think of me. And then send me a photo of what you had. And then maybe send me a plane ticket and take me for ceviche.