Inkas - Peruvian Food. Who Knew?

I think I need to get a world map and put thumb tacks on all the places who’s cuisine I haven’t tried. Then spend my life trying to remove all the thumb tacks. Every time I try a new nationalities food (usually one I’ve never even considered before) it’s always a sort of culinary revelation. I feel as though I’ve been cheated out of something I never even knew I was being cheated out of. Last time it was Indonesian food, this time it was Peruvian.

Apparently I’m not the only one upset about the lack of Peruvian food awareness. The second I arrived, with my partner in eating Kirsten Goldberg, at Inkas in the outer mission our server began working hard to get us aqainted with the ways of Peruvian cooking. After perusing the menu for only a few minutes he came by to make his suggestions. He suggested we start with a ceviche then went on to recommend and describe not one, not two but six different entrees leaving us much more informed but not all that much closer to a decision.

We ended up ordering the mixed ceviche for a starter. For our entrees Kirsten settled on “Aji De Gallina”, strips of chicken simmered in chile sauce with boiled eggs and potatoes and I had “Combinado De Cabrito” lamb stew with cilantro sauce. served with rice, beans and “salsa criolla” .

The ceviche was, for me, the star of the show. It was a simple mix of shrimp, mussels, squid and some sort of white fish marinated in a lime dressing with onions and cilantro. Served along side it was some marinated yucca, some sort of yam and a small pile of hominy corn kernels. The seafood was great, I have no idea what kind of fish it was but it was meaty and firm without being at all fishy and the dressing although very simple still had some unidentifiable quality that made it better than any lime dressing I’d ever had. Still it was the hominy corn kernels marinated in the same light lime dressing that I, for some reason, keep thinking of every time the meal comes to mind.

The entree’s where no less impressive, even if in my mind they’re a little over shadowed by the kernels from the previous course. Kirsten’s chicken was succulent in a nice orange sauce, both spicy and creamy. My lamb was both tender and juicy. Served in a dark greenish cilantro sauce it almost tasted like a curry. Our exuberant waiter, who returned a number of times during our meal to share tidbits of information about Peruvian cuisine, informed me that the sauce for my lamb contained a spice made from a ground squash that was not found anywhere outside of Peru. He even went as far as to explain that the only way the restaurant’s owners could get it here was in a dried form because of the ban on carrying fruits and vegetables across the border.

Finally at the end of our meal our server returned again to get to know us a little. I told him I lived in the East Bay and he excitedly went and got me a post card with dancing girls on one side and a list of Peruvian restaurants on the other. He suggested that I try La Furia Chalaca in downtown Oakland. I probably will end up checking that one out but if your looking for a introduction to Peruvian food I’d suggest you head out to Inkas. That way you can get great food and have it served by a true ambassador of the culture.