peruvian paradise

i am fed up.

i lost this very article three times because blogger, chump programming that it is, doesn't save a backup every so often. after the third time my computer rebooted i gave up and decided to wait until today

these words have now been repeated for the fourth time

this was a forgotten promised land, a refreshing oasis in the middle of noe valley which i found out rhymes with joey. it is one valley south of rainbow beflagged castro valley.

san francisco has lots of pockets and even more good food. you can land in a gutter and find a four star michelin restaurant lying around in the muck. here is a great place called fresca peruvian.

ive eaten tons of peruvian and i assure you it is not healthy which makes it great, which is why i eat tons of it. the best part about peruvian food is their unabashed love for including french fries right into the stir fry aka saltado. saltado is almost a national dish next to cocaine. peruvian food generally adheres to the same guidelines as other native/peasant food in that you find the same sort of dishes in every restaurant of that respective culture. fresca was a departure, and not a bad one

i was worried that being san fran and having the name fresca, it would be dainty. so i committed myself to a variety of tapas, assuming tapas portions

boy was i wrong

i over ordered, and was greeted with a procession of delicious food i couldn't finish toward the end



not a bad start, rich and hearty these rolls got things started off right.

the space is light and airy by the way, and why not? in a city that is wracked with the blanketed pall of fog, all the light you can get is envigorating.



so i commence to ordering a few fresh seafood nibbles. littleneck clam. kumamoto oyster. giant prawn.



briney and sharp, this little guy packs a lot of flavor in its tiny bivalve.



larger than most, but not too large, a healthy dash of tobasco and mignonette will help the heat on that

then i dumbly ordered ceviche...



but not before the prawns came to roost. spicy rocoto pepper aioli on the side

remember the peruvians do nothing small, think machu picchu

i should have remembered the huge bowls of parihuela or the heaping mound of rice that accompanies an ample field of saltato /which already has french fries mixed into it remember\ two starches. TWO starches. they live on the edge.

one thing that was missing is the ubiquitous aji sauce, which is americanized of course. who cares. there should be no stigma | this is america sort of



yah peruvian ceviche is hulking and intimidating. not a pile of delicate fish like mexico or spain but thick cuts of halibut and chunks of vegetables. but i didn't see this when i ordered it so i have yet another dish coming

POST APOCALYPTIC MUSIC BREAK



sinatra.anne murray. neil diamond. no pan flutes. no andean music. no incan influence.

now im full but a whole tower of food is approaching. meanwhile, she ordered tequenos which is a peruvian version of crab rangoon only better and more substantial.



and here is my whatever it is.



straight from the menu %Causa, aka the WTF?!? peruvian pepper infused mashed potato filled iwth ahi tuna, smoked trout tartar, avocado and rocoto aioli

wow

that is a stack of starch with fish tucked into it

oh for the love of jesus, i ordered another thing and dont forget this is a day after the french laundry so i am already sort of full



Mmmmmussels known locally as choros al vapor. and boy did i get the vapors.

it was all good, tasty, fresh and filling. i was wrong to think that a nimble joint in noe would only offer dainty flecks of food. if its peruvian it is filling. we had a few more hours of scrambling around hillsides before making the arduous journey back to la, so it was a perfect respite before trekking out