RESTAURANTS ON LATIN AMERICA’S FOOD BEST LIST
Quoted from the site page https://www.mofongosphilly.com/
La Mar, Lima, Peru
La Mar is his most successful venture by chef Gastón Acurio, creator of Peru’s contemporary food movement, who now has a chain of restaurants spanning the Americas. However, it this cebichería in Lima that has been in the LatAm’s 50 Best for the past six years. Inspect the day’s various catches at the seafood bar before settling in for lunch; La Mar only opens from noon to 5pm, ensuring that morning’s sustainable Pacific products make it into cebiches (from £11), crab empanadas (£3.20) and sashimi (from £4). Whole baked lenguado (sole) in black butter and garlic (£21.50) is ideal for two or three to share, or bib up and prepare to get messy cracking open whole crab (£16.30). No reservations.
Isolina, Lima
Spread over several floors in the boho Barranco district, and sporting plenty of wood and colourful ceramic floors, Isolina takes a fresh look at Peruvian comfort food. Chef José del Castillo opened the taberna three years ago and was an instant hit with nostalgic limeños for his updated to hearty classic dishes. For a quick bite, grab a seat near the ground-floor bar: serious eaters should head upstairs to table by an open window, to devour an array of surprisingly tasty offal. Beef brain tortilla with liver and onions (£8.70) and cau cau con sangrecita (tripe and potato stew with fried blood, £10.30) are two such delicacies; squeamish diners should choose lomo saltado (a typical beef stir fry, £13.30) or escabeche de bonito (brined tuna, £6.90). Call ahead to book (weekdays only) or prepare to queue.
A Casa do Porco, São Paulo, Brazil
Pork lovers will adore butcher-turned-chef Jefferson Rueda’s creations: he cooks with free-range meat only at his “House of Pig”. Rueda uses every last morsel to create cold cuts and charcuterie, melt-in-the-mouth aged tartare with bone marrow and mushrooms, bão with fermented radish, pork belly, jowl sushi and blood sausage. “Six versions of pork” includes bacon, pancetta, suckling pig and tongue (£15). It’s a lively, casual spot, decorated with piggy paraphernalia – porcos really do fly (from the ceiling). The best way to pig out in this hog heaven is the 15-course tasting menu (£23), but there are much the cheaper dishes, such as a hot pork sandwich (£5).
Restaurante 040, Santiago de Chile
This fine-dining establishment is inside a boutique hotel in Santiago’s boho Bellavista district. In this elegant setting, Spanish chef Sergio Barroso Urbano plays around with Asian and Chilean ingredients, applying haute-cuisine techniques in his elaborate 12-course tasting menu (£44). One course might mix sweet with umami, such as garlic and toasted almond ice-cream, while a nikuman – steamed meatball bun – comes with creany pepitoria sauce, in a nod to his motherland. Six wine pairings accompany the menu. Afterwards, ask to see Room 09, its sister speakeasy bar.
