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| - When we hear "Pisco" we think "Peru", and we expect a restaurant named after Peruvian brandy to offer the most premium brands and make the most elegant cocktails. It does! Finally, pisco has found a home in Toronto. In Lima, I was told, "Pisco Sour is like a woman's breast: you can't have only one, but you should not have more than two". We rush to Pisco, because we want many.
Love at first sip. A classic Pisco Sour cocktail is everything we had hoped: refined and well structured, and it begins with quality pisco that is simply unavailable anywhere else. What is pisco you ask? Pisco is a clear Peruvian brandy made entirely from Peruvian grapes distilled directly to proof. There is no added water or sugar--only pure distillation from Peruvian grapes. And with that, we open the menu to be transported to the most exciting gastronomy in the world.
Ceviche is the new sashimi. While it is popular throughout South and Central America, it originated in northern Peru. A sashimi cut of Mahi Mahi is summer-y and fresh; sweet purple potato balances the citric marinade, while toasted corn kernels provide crunch to the medley of textures. We want to scoop up all the rich flavour, to which brothers and co-owners Alessandro and Giancarlo Colombaro share their passion that, "ceviche should be eaten with a spoon, because you need the flavour of the leche de tigre."
Next up, we sample Peru's answer to the mojito: the Chilcano. This is an Italian contribution to Peruvian gastronomy, typically made by combining pisco and ginger ale; here they use artisanal ginger beer, locally brewed, for a spritely kick. This is actually the best chilcano I've ever tasted.
Anticuchos, an African influenced dish, are chunks of beef classically served on skewers. Beef hearts marinated forty-eight hours with earthy, fruity Peruvian aji panca pepper are so tender and emit a subtle smoky essence from the pepper. Presented on a sweet corn mash and accompanied by crisp wedges of lightly herbed potatoes, this is a very generous portion of exotic flavours. A salsa of yellow pepper, cilantro and huacatay only enhances the flavour profile to greater heights.
The "potato" originated in Peru, and there are literally thousands of different kinds. There is also a myriad of corn of all shapes, colours and sizes. Peruvian cooking uses these staples in many dishes, but they are apportioned with such care that we could eat them with every single dish and not have the same taste experience twice.
The wine menu lists wines from South America, Washington and Prince Edward County deliberately chosen to match the versatility of the food, but we stay with the selection of pisco cocktails and order a Maracuya Sour-a pisco sour made with passion fruit that is a gentle tangy citric burst that sets my taste buds dancing.
Our waiter comes to change our silverware, and I notice he has donned a white glove: not for show, just for care. When he brings the lomo saltado, we want to applaud Chef Jason Koos. His presentation is, again, so clean and vibrant. As if cooked separately, each ingredient, from the bounty of tender grass-fed Alberta beef, to the crisp seasoned potato wedges, to the radiant tomatoes, is prepared to its a point. Peruvian jasmine rice is boiled in garlic, onion and spice, and perfectly textured to soak up the rich flavour of this abundantly portioned Chinese-influenced dish.
So, what is Peruvian cuisine? It is the original fusion cuisine with influences from Japan, China, Africa, Spain and local communities embracing the most bio-diverse ingredient base in the world. "All the senses must be enticed", Colombaro tells me. "We eat with our eyes first." The contrast of colours and textures are essential, but he says, "It's all about balance".
I'm having a love affair with my pisco-soaked sour cherry crème brulee made for two. So rich and decadent, I simply cannot share. Anyone who has traveled to Peru will recognize, this is the authentic Peruvian cuisine that Toronto has long awaited.
Salud!
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