Worth the long haul

Do not be outraged by this suggestion, please. Because if you, like me, do manage to haul yourself halfway around the world, actually take this trip you’ve never taken, it will be a trip of a lifetime. Lima’s food currently enjoys the status of coolest cuisine in the world, with good reason. In common with many other great cuisines of the world, Peruvian food today is the beautiful child of gastronomical miscegenation over centuries—Andean, Spanish, Japanese, Chinese, African—and this fabulous heritage can be sampled at every end of the dining spectrum. Eat Peru’s signature dish, ceviche (chunks of raw fish or shellfish or both, marinated in lime juice and perked up with fine strips of red chilli), at hole-in-the-wall cevicherias that abound in Lima. Or have the sophisticated version at La Mar, the world-famous cevicheria begun by Peruvian celebrity chef Gastón Acurio. Drink a pisco sour at any bar. Make sure you eat causa, mashed potato enlived by lime juice and chilli and sometimes meat (remember that you’re in the birthplace of the potato). Blow up lots of money on a six-course tasting menu at the pioneering Astrid y Gastón (yes, by the same genius). Try anything and everything off the street, even if you don’t know what you’re eating (unless you speak Spanish, don’t bother asking)—it’ll all taste great. As for me, I’m now planning a return trip of a lifetime.