Around the World, Down the Street

     My most recent culinary research took me to the eastern Caribbean.  I had planned to study the cuisine of several islands there and spent a week traveling and tasting the food of the Dominican Republic, St. Thomas, Puerto Rico, and Grand Turk.  It was all a part of a late winter respite from the chilly homeland.  With my culinary traveling associate I happily booked passage on one of the many cruise ships that routinely ply the warm azure waters of the West Indies, where Columbus accidentally landed back in 1492.

     As is our custom we always arrive a day ahead of our sailing date to make sure we don't miss the boat.  That provided me with an opportunity to do some surveillance near the hotel where we would spend the evening.  Looking for a place to have dinner I was surprised to find 3 very different cuisines within the space of 2 blocks on the same road.  Bryson's Irish Pub looked to be a local watering hole and I expected to see things like corned beef and cabbage on the menu with St. Patty's Day just around the corner.  But with a blending of cultures instead I lunched on conch fritters.  

     Filled with incredulity I made my way to the next block and looked with skepticism at a storefront pizza shop.  The sign painted on the front window boldly announced, "A Little Bit of Philly" so I went in to see for myself it it was legit or just a wanna be.  I quizzed the owner about some local landmarks that only a Philadelphia native would be acquainted with.  Sure enough, he was the real deal!  He's an ex-pat who brought with him the best of Philly's style of pizza and cheesesteak and provided me with a free sample of each, just to prove his point.  It was just like being home!  We talked Phillies, Eagles, the Vet, Wing Bowl, and throwing snowballs at Santa, much to the amazement of the Florida patrons listening in. And his parents still live in neighboring East Norriton.

     But the real find was a small Peruvian restaurant just two doors down from the Philly experience.  Comer es translates into English as "eating is" and was the dining destination for our evening meal.  It certainly wasn't anything fancy, just a few chairs and tables and a small counter.  But the menu was extensive!  Three pages of choices that offered chicken, fish and red meat options.  It was overwhelming!  So we asked our bi-lingual waitress if she would have the chef/owner choose for us two entrees: one chicken and one seafood.  We figured that our meal would taste better if it was a favorite of the one preparing it.  Soon our meals came to the table along with the smiling senora who had lovingly cooked it just for us.  

Our waitress earned her pay that night as she also acted as translator since the chef spoke not a word of English.  The meals were amazing as was the medley of authentic desserts that followed.  

     We weren't exactly sure what we were enjoying and it was both a challenge and a treat to identify what we were tasting.  I'm guessing it was just as authentic to Lima as a cheesesteak is in Philly.