Guess which single Garnet Avenue restaurant features all of these entrees on its menu:
–Stir-fried noodles with chicken, onions and tomatoes
–Fresh white sea bass marinated in lemon juice
–Beef tamales
–Potato stew with pork and chicken
–Top sirloin steak and French fries
If you said Latin Chef Peruvian Cuisine”correcto! These flavors from around the world are all represented in traditional Peruvian cooking, according to restaurant owner and chef Fredy Palma.
“Out of the 32 climates in the world, Peru has 28, so we can grow anything,” he said. Peruvian cuisine features seasonings and ingredients from Europe, Africa and Asia and native pre-Inca and Inca foods passed down through the centuries, according to Palma.
“The only country not represented is Australia,” he said. “Well, not yet, anyway.”
Palma brings his own international flavor to the restaurant. Born in Cusco, Peru, he lived in Tokyo for 10 years. He operated an import business when the economy was booming for ethnic products, but just as quickly, the market turned.
“The Japanese people stopped buying things, but they never stopped eating,” he said. So in 1994, he opened what he said was the first Peruvian restaurant in Tokyo. “The timing was there, so I took the risk,” he said. “Peruvian food became very popular very quickly ” in fact, the restaurant is still there.”
Palma, however, was ready for a change after a few years. He and his family moved to San Diego in 1998, and while he operated other businesses, he looked for the ideal location for another Peruvian restaurant. He moved into the location on Garnet Avenue just over a year ago and expanded into the space next door when it became available in November.
“We create things here that are based on the most traditional menu from Peru, but we also create things here that are mostly ours,” Palma said. “We change the menu very often.”
Palma said one thing that doesn’t change is the quality. He uses as much fresh food as he can but has to import specialty items to keep his customers happy.
“Peruvians are very picky about food. You couldn’t put green olives in a dish that was supposed to use black olives. They wouldn’t accept something that didn’t have as high of a standard,” he said.
Thomas Offerman, a Scripps Ranch resident, has those same high standards. His wife is from Peru and he has visited the country himself. While he studied the menu to place a carry-out order, he ate a plate of cebiche de pescado, fresh white sea bass marinated in lemon juice, topped with onions and rocoto, Peruvian red chili.
“Peru is an amazing place when it comes to food,” he said. “It was voted the culture with the most variety of food in the world.”
Despite the variety of food on the menu, every table in the restaurant appeared to order a plate ” and then another ” of alfajores. These bite-size traditional Peruvian cookies are filled with gooey caramel and covered in powdered sugar.
Carol Parker, a Point Loma resident, was finishing a cookie as she said she was delighted to find Peruvian cuisine close to home. She will be going to Peru later this year for vacation and is studying the culture and cuisine. When Palma told her that the country grows 4,000 different kinds of potatoes, she was surprised.
“I always said I could live off of potatoes, so it sounds like I’m going to the right place,” she said.
Latin Chef, 1142 Garnet Ave., is open for meals and catering Tuesdays through Thursdays, noon to 9 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays, noon to 9:30 p.m., and Sunday noon to 9 p.m.
For information call (858) 270-8810.