Peruvians are a tough crowd to please when it comes with food. We've been referred to as the French of Latin America, and with good reason. Peruvian cuisine, apart from being on par with China for having one of the world's largest and most diverse cuisines, is also the most elegant and sophisticated in Latin America. Don't believe me? Just read what Auguste Escoffier and Ferran Adrià (both gods of the gastronomic pantheon) say about Peruvian cuisine. Contemporary Peruvian cuisine is a cross between the culinary traditions of various Amerindian peoples, West Africans, Arabs, Spaniards, French, Italians, Chinese, and Japanese. To paraphrase Peruvian celebrity chef, Gaston Acurio, Peruvian cuisine is the original fusion cuisine that occurred decades before trained chefs began toying with the concept. Unfortunately, due to poor marketing and an almost psychological confusion of where to compartmentalize Peruvian cuisine (being that it's unlike what many people picture Latin American cuisines to be), most people are ignorant about it or it just gets shoved to the back burner as something akin to Mexican food but with more potatoes. I hope to bring about a greater worldwide appreciation for this cuisine that inspired the likes of Chef Nobu Matsuhisa.
Anyway, Peruvians are demanding when it comes to their cuisine and eating at Peruvian restaurants. I've seen Peruvians get upset over being served by a Colombian or Argentine waitress. I've seen Peruvians return platters of ceviche because it was sitting in lime juice a minute too long. And Peruvians in Lima are known to return whole platters of chicharron (fried pork) because "there's just a little too much gristle on this one piece and how dare you try to cheat me out of meat and serve me a bad cut of pork!" As one Peruvian chef in Miami once told me, "our Peruvian customers are our most....'special' customers". That being said, THIS particular Peruvian-American is very demanding when it comes to eating Peruvian food at restaurants. Ironically, a lot of the Peruvian restaurants in South Florida are pretty deplorable, and sadly they've become the reference point for many non-Peruvians as to what Peruvian cuisine is like. Up until now, there have been only two Peruvian restaurants worth going to in South Florida that I know about: Cvi.che 105 in Miami and Bravo! Gourmet Sandwich in Broward County. Along with Chifa Du Kang (a Chinese-Peruvian style restaurant known as a Chifa), these are considered to be the best Peruvian restaurants in South Florida.
I now have Cevichery Restobar in Miami Beach to add to that list. The name of the restaurant is an anglicized play on the word cevichería, which is an informal place to grab drinks and eat ceviche and other Peruvian seafood appetizers. It's like the Peruvian version of a sports bar, tapas bar, and sometimes even blues lounge all wrapped up in one. This particular cevichería is located on the beautiful Española Way, which gives you the feel of being on a quaint side street in the chic neighborhood of Miraflores in Lima, and the décor, location, cuisine, and service make it much more than your average hole-in-the-wall ceviche joint. Regardless of its elegant surroundings and outstanding and inventive cuisine, the prices are very reasonable, with entrées all under $18.
I went with my sister last night, and we started off with a mora (a South American blackberry that has a floral note) pisco sour and a kiwi pisco sour. Although both lacked the traditional head of foamy egg white, our waitress informed us that the traditional pisco sour did include the requisite egg white froth and the dash of bitters. Both cocktails really piqued our appetites for our ceviche shots that were brought to us just moments after being made to order. Proper Peruvian ceviche is never left to sit and marinate, but is left to "cook" in the lime juice for just a few minutes before serving, demonstrating an appreciation for raw seafood that was taught to us by Peru's Japanese community. My ceviche was spiked with a purée of fiery rocoto pepper, while my sister's was accented by the sweetness of fresh-squeezed orange juice and a chiffonade of fresh mint. While mine offered all the traditional elements a Peruvian would expect, my sister's ceviche presented a well-balanced mixture of flavors that was very refreshing. After our ceviche shots, we were brought a plate of conchitas a la parmesana, a nod to Italy's contribution to Peruvian cuisine. Six scallop shells arrived topped with a golden-brown layer of melted parmesan cheese sealing a tender scallop nestled in a cream sauce infused with the scallops briny-sweet juices. There was perhaps just a little too much cheese on each scallop for my sister's taste, but the sauce beneath the cheese was so good I found myself licking each shell clean.
For an entrée, I was recommended the pescado a lo macho (macho fish), which consists of a lightly breaded and fried fillet of white fish (I believe they used grouper) topped with a spicy cream sauce ideally containing a cornucopia of shellfish. Cevichery Restobar's version is the absolute best I have had in all of South Florida, period! The fish was perfectly cooked and the sauce was rich, thick, and offered just the right amount of kick from yellow ají. The shellfish that dotted the "macho" sauce was so tender it could be cut with a spoon. This was served with a side of fluffy white rice (perfectly desgranado) topped with a few kernels of choclo (Peruvian hominy). My sister ordered the lomo saltado served with a side of quinoto. Lomo saltado is a dish of Chinese-Peruvian origin and contains bite-sized pieces of steak (traditionally sirloin) stir-fried with red onions, wedges of roma tomatoes, soy sauce and other seasonings and is finished with a touch of chopped fresh cilantro. If served with plain rice, the stir fry is topped with french fries. The version my sister ordered this evening came with a side of quinoto, a more contemporary addition to the Peruvian culinary repertoire that is basically a risotto made with quinoa, a grain cultivated in the Andes since time immemorial. Quinoa is ideal for making a risotto, as it naturally has a creamy texture and does not clump like rice does. At Cevichery Restobar, diners have the option of having their quinoto flavored with rocoto chile, pesto, or huancaina sauce. On the waitresses suggestion, my sister ordered the huancaina option. Huancaina sauce is a thick dressing for boiled potatoes originating from the Andean region of Huancayo, and consists of a purée of ají amarillo chiles, onion, garlic, fresh cheese, and milk (with a few other things, of course). The combination of the spicy-creamy quinoto with the juices from the sautéed beef tips of the lomo saltado was heavenly - a perfectly conceived and executed dish!
We were able to meet the chef, who is Peruvian but apparently was raised in the United States as evidenced in his flawless English. He therefore is true to his Peruvian roots, but has a firm grasp on the American market as well as diverse culinary influences that only eating and cooking in the United States can give. He informed us that he just devised a completely new menu that will be revealed very soon - I was still reeling from the intoxicating food to pay remember whether he said tomorrow (which would be today) or the next week. Our waitress informed me that if we loved that evening's dinner, we'll be blown away by the new menu. I'm finding it hard to contain my excitement! Anyway, after having chatted with us, the chef sent us over some complimentary shots of passion fruit pisco sours, which should definitely not be missed. We rounded out our evening with a slice of lúcuma cheesecake (see here for a description of lúcuma), with a cinnamon and clove-spiced graham cracker crust. The cheesecake, while being rich and flavorful was uncharacteristically light in body and was made with a bit of gelatin, making it almost like a cheesecake-panna cotta. Speaking of panna cotta, they were sadly out of their chirimoya (sweet sop) panna cotta that evening, but I will be sure to order it next time.
And there will be a next time, especially considering that my sister and I were given 10% off coupons to come back and try their new menu. Cevichery Restobar will not only be my go-to place while I'm on the beach, but also new destination for perfectly-made Peruvian cuisine in a beautiful setting.
Cevichery Restobar
440-448 Espanola Way
Miami Beach, FL 33139
(305) 532-6620
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