My trip to Peru last fall wasn’t planned as a gastronomic tour, but that’s what it turned into. From Cusco to Arequipa to Lima, some of the best meals I’ve tasted were on that trip. Peru’s culinary scene is a true melting pot of cultures, and that rich heritage is enhanced by the fact that almost any ingredient you could want grows in this country.
There was one foodie destination on my trip checklist, though: I wanted to dine at Astrid y Gaston. I’d first heard of chef Gastón Acurio on a prior trip to South America, and I’d read a lot about him. In addition to his restaurants in Lima, Bogota, Caracas, Panama, Quito, Santiago and Madrid, Acurio has his own cooking show and is a popular media personality. I expected to be impressed with his restaurant, Astrid y Gaston, in the elegant Miraflores neighborhood, and it lived up to its advance billing. Located on a tiny street that runs off the crowded Parque Miraflores (where there are frequent open-air concerts, and where the beautiful church Parroquia la Virgen Milagrosa sits on the eastern edge), Astrid y Gaston was an intriguing combination of formality and irreverence. The setting — an old colonial mansion — is stunning, the service is impeccable, and the atmosphere is lively and warm.
The waiter who served my table spoke fluent English, but using a Spanish-language celiac card made it easier to explain my dietary restrictions. After a conference in the kitchen, I was told that about half the items on the relatively long menu were naturally gluten-free, and that several others could be modified to be so. I started with ceviche, the classic Peruvian dish of raw seafood marinated in lime juice. I’d been trepidatious about trying this dish earlier on my trip — eating uncooked seafood is normally too big a risk when you want to stay healthy — but the dish I had at Astrid y Gaston was perfect (and perfectly healthy). My main course — a spicy tuna steak with a hint of sweetness mixed in — was just as satisfying.
I don’t know if the other outposts of Gaston y Astrid are as celiac-friendly as the one in Lima, and I’d love to hear from readers who have tried them. This month, Gastón Acurio is opening a restaurant in San Francisco — La Mar Cebicheria Peruana at the Embarcadero’s Pier 1.5 — and I can’t wait to try it on my next visit.
Astrid y Gaston [address] Calle Cantuarias 175, Miraflores (Lima), Peru [tel] 01/444-1496 [web] www.astridygaston.com
Hi Hilary
Thanks so much for this! I was in Lima last May and have a long list of dietary restrictions myself, including gluten. It’s great to see read this post. I went to T’antA, Acurio’s more bistro-like restaurant (the location in centro) when I was there and had a great (if relatively expensive for Peru) meal of ceviche and causa (the kind of stacked seafood salad with dairy-free mashed potatoes and avocado).
And the markets are heavenly for anyone traveling gluten-free. All the exotic fruit at the Mercado Surquillo and the Organic Bio Feria in Miraflores are stunning and delicious. Next time you’ll have to try AlmaZen. It’s an upscale vegetarian restaurant. Chef David makes a lot of his cakes and even tamales with quinoa flour, and he does mango and lucuma mousses with agar-agar. But of course if corn isn’t an issue than you can go just about anywhere in the city as long as there’s no contamination.
Oh! And Punta Sal in Miraflores for top quality ceviche with black conches leche de tigre and a spectacular view. Wow, I miss it…