Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Dine on Us!

When I was contacted by Foodbuzz to attend a blogger dinner on their dime, I couldn't say no ;) We met at Macchu Picchu for an evening of Peruvian cuisine this past weekend. I wasn't quite sure what to expect, as the online menu was not translated and I've never been to Peru. My fellow diners included Caitlin, Tia, Mark and Finance Foodie. A very interesting group of folks, their tales of food and travels made me want to schedule my next trip!

I'll do my best to describe what you I got to try, but go check out Caitlin's review here--she knew what she was talking about!! First up was a Pisco Sour, a regional favorite that I had to try... sorry no picture. We started with some appetizers- Fried Yucca with a cheese sauce, (huge) Corn on the Cob with a mild white cheese and a Ceviche w/Shrimp and Fish.

Yuca a la Huancaina

Choclo Peruano con Queso


Ceviche Mixto (i think that's the version we had)

Yucca was another first for me, but it kind of reminded me of a potato. The corn had very large kernals and was a bit starch-ier than that which I'm used to, but it was tasty, as was the cheese served with it. The ceviche was also pretty good. I got a kick out of our server, who, upon seeing us start taking pictures of the food, said she would've brought out a prettier piece of corn!

At this point they also brought out these...
Which looked like roasted corn kernals. While the fresh kernals were good with the slight starchiness, I didn't care much for the roasted ones as this made them very dry.

For my main course, I went for a dish that was shrimp and spinach wrapped in chicken, served with a mass of spinach mashed potatoes and some steamed green beans. I'm going to spare you the aweful picture of this that I took, but I actually quite enjoyed it. Not sure how "peruvian" the dish is, but that's ok! While I did like most of the dishes up to this point, I must admit I was underwhelmed at the flavors of the dishes, they weren't very strongly seasoned. Whether this is normally the case in Peru, I only wish I could tell you!

Luckily we all went home with some Alfajores. Sorry I didn't get a picture of these either, but think buttery shortbread cookies with dulce de leche sandwiched in between. Umm, yeah, fantastic. I had one at the table, one when I got home, then quickly gave them to a friend to enjoy so I didn't have to tempt fate :) Thanks again to Caitlin and Foodbuzz for an enjoyable evening out!!

28 comments:

Fit Mommy said...

Sounds like fun! Never been to Peru either but any time I eat authentically cooked foods, I enjoy the experience.

Sharon said...

Oh wow, that is so cool dining with other bloggers!

Ricki said...

Sounds like a great evening--and how generous of FoodBuzz!

The Purple Carrot said...

Sounds like tons of fun!

Dewi said...

I heard of this event, just not really sure what it is actually. Anyway, sounds like a great idea, and the food looks fabulous.
Cheers,
elra

Balance, Joy and Delicias! said...

such a great dinner, meeting fellow bloggers and eat delicious food! :)

Anonymous said...

Sounds like you had fun! Very cool to meet the other bloggers in the area!

Erica said...

How cool!What a fun dinner- love that you got to try some new/unique foods! Good stuff ;)

Emily said...

Very nice! Looks like a great meal. I'd love to try that cocktail.

MizFit said...

um, WOW.

how much does BlogHer suck, errrr, have to learn from the Buzz.

Leslie said...

thats awesome foodbuzz put together a blogger dinner.

i hope that they do that for the dc area down here!

check out my giveaway if you haven't already:

http://lovejackson.blogspot.com/2009/04/spring-has-sprung-giveaway.html

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

Amaaaazing meal!!


Oh my, Alfajores - TOO DAMN GOOD!!!

Anonymous said...

a free dinner! wow, that's amazing! I've never tried Peruvian cuisine, but I'm always game for trying a whole new cuisine!
everything looks sooo good. I guess they must be pretty authentic too, because the menu was in Peruvian only!

We Are Not Martha said...

Oooh this looks amazing!! I haven't been there but have heard fabulous things. I hope to attend a foodbuzz dinner soon!

Sues

Danielle said...

Mmmm Peruvian food! Love it :)

Diana said...

OOOOH Jealous! I hope I get an invite to something similar - I would loooove to try Peruvian - that had to be good!

Kelly said...

All that food looks delicious. I love how generous FoodBuzz is. Mmmmm, you're making me salivate!

MacDuff said...

I'm so sorry I wasn't able to get there!!! I really wanted to come - it was just out of the way and I had plans later in the night. But now I'm super bummed!!! ANOTHER TIME!!! I want a mulligan!

Jess said...

Gah! That looks so fun.

Pam said...

I think it sounds like a fun dining experience - it's great to get out there and try new things.

Reeni said...

How fun! And such delicious eats! I've had that giant corn before-it's very starchy. The cookies sound real yummy!!

Maria said...

Look at all of that great food! YUM!

Heather said...

you lucky duck! that sounds like a blast!

Kerstin said...

How cool, I've never had Peruvian cuisine and that restaurant is close to our place, so we'll have to check it out!

Meghan said...

As the friend who received the "cookies", I can totally agree with Shannon that they are DELICIOUS!

Elina said...

Sorry I missed it. Looks like fun! I'd actually expect Peruvian food to be very flavorful (not from experience... just what I thought). Maybe there is a better Peruvian restaurant in the Boston area.

Sagan said...

That is SO COOL that you got to do that! Living vicariously through you is fun :D

Juliana said...

WOW, never been in Peru...love latin food.

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