Our cab from the airport (a reasonable 60 solas [$20] for 4 people) dropped us off in the heart of Miraflores and from there we set off to explore the area and spend some time before lunch. Eric and I popped into a local supermarket for some chips and bottled water and our new friend Dave bought himself a pair of shoes (American Airlines lost his luggage and he had been wearing the same slip-ons for three days, including the Machu Picchu hike).
After that, I basically handed Eric the map and asked him to get us to the dot that was our lunch place location. :)
The streets were a little tricky but the signage was fine and we eventually ended up on Av. Pardo where we could walk down the middle of the street. This avenue dead-ends into a park overlooking the Pacific Ocean. It very much reminded us of certain parts of California.
Our main destination in Miraflores was La Mar (website in Spanish), which is supposed to be one of the best places for cebiche (marinated raw fish) in the city. We arrived just after noon so we got a table slightly above the main dining room which made for great people watching.
(The complimentary chips, dips and roasted corn kernels were delicious.)
I couldn’t decide on any one dish (and there are no English menus so it takes a bit of guessing), but, luckily, La Mar has something just for that type of indecision—a cebiche sampler of the five most popular choices. Thankfully, none of them included tongue.
I don’t expect that everyone will find my meal appetizing (Eric certainly didn’t) but it was absolutely delicious. And I’m not just saying that because of the pisco sour (or two) that I consumed along with it.
(the beautiful presentation from left to right: Nikei – tuna in tiger milk; Potente – clams and squid; Miraflorino – fish in yellow red pepper mixed cream; Elegante – fish in cream of red pepper; Clásico – the freshest fish)
Eric settled on the paella limeña which was rice with fish, shellfish, chicken and garlic sausage with creole seasoning. He was a very good sport as nothing on the menu didn’t have some sort of seafood included. We all left full and happy.
