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| - I'd say 4.5 stars. I'm definitely a fan but I don't have enough experience with Peruvian cuisine to know if it's as good as it gets. : )
I was first introduced to Peruvian food a week ago and have now been to Contigo Peru 3 times. From what I have come to learn, it is a natural fusion cuisine. There are large populations of different ethnic groups (some major ones being Chinese, Japanese and Italian) in Peru and those influences have all spilled over into the food of Peru. From what I understand, the cuisine of Peru is quite varied and the food served at Contigo Peru is primarily that of Lima.
The restaurant itself is great. It's clean and casual and the staff is amazingly nice. They were super helpful on every visit. I can't say enough about them.
Over the course of our visits, we had:
Lomo Saltado - tender loin beef strips stir fried with onions, tomatoes & french fries served with rice.
I understand this is a classic dish. I completely loved it. The stir fry is Chinese influence with tastes of soy sauce. It seemed like total comfort food, even bringing back memories of "chips & gravy" for the Oz folk and maybe even brings poutine to mind? It's kind of a carb fest but it's great. Easily accessible and super tasty. Not spicy at all. The kids loved it too. If you're new to Peruvian food, definitely a good place to start.
Saltado Contigo Peru - basically the same as loom saltado with shrimp. Also great.
Yuca con frita huancaina - slices of deep fried yucca root with a cheese and aji sauce.
First of all, aji here refers to peppers. This term is used all over the place. We enjoyed this but I don't know that we get the huancaina sauce yet. We ended up eating the yucca with aji (in this case referring to the spicy sauces/salsas on the table - more on that later).
Ceviche de pescado / camarones - ceviche with fish and/or shrimp, shaved onion, lettuce, yam, corn on the cob & dried corn kernels (called ganchas?).
I loved these dishes. Sour and tasty but the thing that stood out most to me was the amazing contrast of textures.
Causa - layers of mashed potatoes seasoned with lime juice & aji and a chicken salad layer in between.
Kind of a crazy dish. Surprising texture (soft all the way through) but I really liked it. I liked the hint of spice and the taste of lime with the potatoes.
Chaufa Contigo Peru - beef, chicken and shrimp fried rice.
Enjoyed this well though I didn't really see a great deviation from typical Chinese fried rice.
Pescado a lo Macho - fish fillet fried and covered with a spicy seafood sauce containing shrimp, scallops, calamari, mussels. Also some fried yucca slices.
This is a great dish. Super tasty with a bit of spice. One of the Heather's favorites.
Aji de Gallina - creamy yellow, spicy sauce, made with shredded chicken, ají amarillo (yellow chilis), cheese, milk, bread, and walnuts served with rice.
This was another great dish. It's actually not on the menu but I think they have it most Friday, Saturday, Sundays. Heather called it pure comfort food. Loved it, especially the subtle hint of spice. Think this will be a staple order.
Anticuchos - skewers of beef heart marinated in Peruvian spices and grilled. Also comes with it's own spiciy sauce.
This is another special dish. It's not on the menu and only there on occasion. Since they had it, I had to try it and definitely enjoyed it. Not spicy without the sauce. The kids also liked it quite well.
Rotisserie chicken - killer rotisserie chicken.
I loved this especially with the aji (spicy sauces) on the table. There were two of these, red & green, with the red being a bit spicier and the green having more of a cilantro flavor. I became a huge fan of these immediately. The first visit, I was using pieces of bread as a vehicle for the sauce. For the 2nd & 3rd visits, we ordered the chicken which just went perfectly with the aji. We also used it quite liberally in many other ways (on the yucca, over the chaufa, etc.).
If there were a good Peruvian restaurant close to the house, the rotisserie chicken and aji would be a definite staple. Felt healthyish and so tasty.
Chica Morada - Peruvian purple corn drink made with pineapple rind, cinnamon, and clove and then mixed with sugar and lemon.
I had this every visit and will probably always do. I actually liked a bit diluted. Light and clean. You can also order it by the pitcher which seems the best deal if you have at least a couple people drinking it.
All in all, I'd say we didn't have a bad dish. Looking at the menu, it can seem like french fry overload but with a bit of consideration, it definitely doesn't have to be that.
I'm a big fan and will be back often.
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