Peru

4 Great Ceviche Dishes Happy National Ceviche Day!

We couldn't have planned National Ceviche Day, or Día Nacional del Cebiche in Peru, to fall on a better day this year. A dish cool in varying degrees, ceviche is best enjoyed when it's uncomfortably hot outside -- which it is now, if you haven't noticed yet. Found throughout Central and South Ameri ... More >>

Paiche Review: Ricardo Zarate Opens a "Peruvian Izakaya" in Marina del Rey

The concept is bubbly, happy, fun -- maybe just a bit too fun

Picca: 99 Essential Restaurants 2013

Mo-Chica: 99 Essential Restaurants 2013

The 5 Things You Need Know About This Week's Review of Mo-Chica

Our restaurant review this week is of Mo-Chica, Ricardo Zarate's new downtown incarnation of his super-hyped Peruvian street food joint. We'd love it if you'd give the full review a shot, but for those short attention spans out there, here's your Cheat Sheet.

15 Great Peruvian Restaurants in Los Angeles

You won't find "Perutown" or "Little Lima" in Los Angeles. The Peruvian and Peruvian-American population is spread out around greater L.A., and so are our Peruvian restaurants. So maybe you haven't noticed these eateries -- often small and unassuming spots, tucked in strip malls far from trendy rest ... More >>

Ricardo Zarate's New Mo-Chica: Sangrecita, Paiche More Ceviche

Ricardo Zarate wants you to know something before checking out his new Mo-Chica. Slated to open Wednesday, May 30, it replaces an earlier version of the same name that closed yesterday. "Peru. It's in South America," says Zarate, mock-serious. "Its limits are Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil, Bolivia and C ... More >>

Takatis Pollo a la Brasa: Sanguchon in the San Fernando Valley

If you wanted to rank L.A. courthouses by approximate distances to good food -- places to console your stomach before or after, say, dealing with a moving violation or outstanding warrant -- the monolithic Superior Court building in Van Nuys would easily rank near the top. Where else could a jury du ... More >>

World Cup of Baking Winners Announced in Paris

No culinary fragrance can compete with that of freshly baked bread. You can be comforted, exalted, seduced, relieved, or stimulated by nutty yeast tones gently wafting toward you. Or maybe you're just hungry. The Coupe du Monde de la Boulangerie, or World Baking Cup, is an event that will make every ... More >>

L.A.'s Capital Cities Are Big ... in Peru

In 2011, the Capital Cities' debut EP was released and got a ton of airplay ... in Peru. Catching wind of the band through the blogosphere, a station in Lima took notice of the band's upbeat, electro-pop single, "Safe and Sound," and immediately put it in heavy rotation. Shortly thereafter, Capital ... More >>

Study: Popcorn Eaten 2,000 Years Earlier Than Thought

Did cavemen sit around the fire stuffing their hairy faces with popcorn? After analyzing recently unearthed ancient corncobs, researchers say people in what's now Peru were eating popcorn 2,000 years earlier than previously thought -- up to 6,700 years ago, National Geographic reports. Previously, ... More >>

Cupcakes Continue World Domination and Other Lessons from Google's 2011 Zeitgeist

R.E.~/FlickrCupcakes were one of the most Googled terms of 2011​Much to our chagrin, the cupcake is a trend that just won't die: according to Google's 2011 Year-End Zeitgeist, cupcakes were one of the most popular Food and Drink search terms of the year. Other fascinating revelations about ou ... More >>

Baco Mercat: 30 Sandwiches in 30 Days (Day 31) BONUS!

Guzzle & NoshBaco Mercat: The Toron.​30 Sandwiches in 30 Days is, technically, over. We, however, can't quit. Not when there are sandwiches as spectacular as the ones at Baco Mercat. Of all the new, upscale, non-deli sandwiches we've tried over the past month-and-a-half, Josef Centeno's bäcos ... More >>

Short Attention Span Dinner Theater: Your Week in Food, 12/5-12/9

Flickr/Lauren Manning​ In which we highlight the past week in food, either at home or abroad. "But the menu at Bäco Mercat, the new restaurant from Joseph Centeno of Lazy Ox, reads almost like a graduate exam in culinary poststructuralism, mixing flavors from Italy, France, and Western Chin ... More >>

Bäco Mercat: An Exam in Culinary Poststructuralism

F. FriesemaJonagold apples​Some new small-plates restaurants are content to serve you hamburgers and fries. Others bring in influences from Singapore, Copenhagen or Tokyo. But the menu at Bäco Mercat, the new restaurant from Joseph Centeno of Lazy Ox, reads almost like a graduate exam in culi ... More >>

Picca: 99 Essential Restaurants 2011

Mo-Chica: 99 Essential Restaurants 2011

A Quick Q&A with Bartender Julian Cox

Caroline on CrackJulian Cox at Playa​We recently caught up with Julian Cox, the award-winning bartender at Playa, the Latin-inspired restaurant on Beverly, and Picca, the Peruvian-inspired restaurant on Pico -- two of the hottest new restaurants of 2011. What's your favorite part about being ... More >>

Jonathan Gold Reviews Picca

At Ricardo Zarate's restaurant, Peruvian meets the Japanese izakaya

Your Counter Intelligence Preview: In Which Mr. Gold Considers Picca

Anne FishbeinPicca​ This week, Jonathan Gold considers Picca, Ricardo Zarate's bright red new restaurant on Pico Boulevard (the alliteration is purposeful), the state of Peruvian cuisine and -- albeit briefly -- the culinary dream team recently assembled in Lima. Any good chef in town is lik ... More >>

Holy Apocalypto: Ancient War Resulted in ... Civilization? UCLA Researchers Say Hooah to That

ApocalyptoMel Gibson's a genius.​War, huh, yeah. What is it good for? Absolutely nothing. Come again? UCLA researchers might beg to differ, Senor Edwin Starr. Research suggests that ancient battles of the Apocalypto variety might have spawned the earliest vestiges of civilization, namely buil ... More >>

Ricardo Zarate: King of Ceviche

Kevin ScanlonRicardo Zarate​ Ricardo Zarate's path has been a little more circuitous even than most chefs', a peripatetic lot in general. His life in the kitchen began in his native Lima, Peru, where as a teenager he cooked banquets for hundreds and learned from a friend's mother how to make s ... More >>

Ricardo Zarate: King of Ceviche

Stud Llamas, Delivery Chickens Mark Twain's Favorite Fruit: Top 5 Craigslist Farm and Garden Classifieds of the Week

Combing through Craigslist's Farm and Garden Classifieds gives an Internet prowler a case of the chuckles. Some people yuck at the writing, but for us, the wares themselves (see pig statue entry) and the vendors' keen marketing ploys (see llama entry) are enough. Seriously though, seeing what peopl ... More >>

Ask Mr. Gold: What's The Big Deal With Quinoa?

Anne Fishbeinthe invisible restaurant critic​ Dear Mr. Gold: What's the big deal with quinoa? I couldn't even pronounce it right when I first saw it on the menu at Hugo's in Studio City. Then I saw it at Trader Joe's and then I saw it everywhere. It has probably been around forever, but has on ... More >>

Peruvian Farmers to Send 1,500 Potatoes to Arctic Seed Vault

Global Crop Diversity TrustFarmers working at the Cusco Potato Park in Peru.​ Aiming to preserve the biodiversity of the world's potato crop, Peruvian farmers yesterday launched a historic collaboration in which they will send 1,500 varieties of potatoes to a remote seed vault. From the potat ... More >>

Untangling Roots of Chicha

Born of Peruvian poverty, genre gained worldwide exposure thanks to a Brooklyn Frenchman

First Listen: 'Roots of Chicha 2' Samples the Best of Psychedelic Peruvian Surf Cumbia

First Listen: 'Roots of Chicha 2' Samples the Best of Psychedelic Peruvian Surf Cumbia

A New Look for Los Balcones del Peru

Barbara Hanseninterior of Balcones del Peru​ Los Balcones del Peru reopened last Thursday after a makeover that kept it closed for five weeks. Walk in now and you could just as well be in Lima. A giant photo of the city's historic downtown square covers the back wall. The cathedral is in the c ... More >>

MUMMIES FOR DUMMIES

After 15 Years in Peruvian Prison, US. Citizen Wishes To Become Pastry Chef

Izquierdo/AP/APLori Berenson in 2001​Lori Berenson, a U.S. citizen, was sent to prison in Peru 15 years ago for aiding a leftist revolutionary group during a contentious time in the country's history. After serving three quarters of her 20 year sentence, she has been released on probation. Now ... More >>

Peruvian Surf Rock's Greatest Hits by Maestro Jose L. Carballo and Brooklyn's Chicha Libre (En Español!)

Peruvian Surf Rock's Greatest Hits by Maestro Jose L. Carballo and Brooklyn's Chicha Libre (En Español!)

Plate Spinnings: Listings From the Past Week

Some food for thought from local, national and international news sources from this past week: -- Designer Betsey Johnson unveils $3 million bottle of liqueur. Hope she's got a good dress to match. [United Business Media] -- Use your leftover Valentine's chocolate to measure the speed of light. Re ... More >>

Firestone Launches "Discoveries" Wines: Score a Free Trip to Peru!

Firestone Discoveriesporters serving tea​Firestone Vineyards is celebrating the launch of its new wine label, Firestone Discoveries, by offering to pay you $1,000 to hike Peru's Inca Trail to Machu Picchu this spring. You'll be accompanied by a yet-undisclosed guest chef who promises to keep y ... More >>

American Apparel Puts Father Yod On A T-Shirt, Anthology Provides The Soundtrack

Celebrated Hollywood Hills cult head and far-out psych-rock band leader Father Yod may have died in an unfortunate hang-gliding accident in Hawaii in 1975 (we realize the inherent oddness of that sentence to any not familiar with the Ya Ho Wha 13 story), but his image is being resurrected thanks to ... More >>

Best of L.A.: Food and Drink

East of the 5: Mas Exitos Unearths Underground Latin Cuts at Verdugo Bar

DJ collective Mas Exitos unites North and South America in a delectable melange of musical styles at Verdugo Bar.

Feed Your Habit: 10 Places to get your Ceviche Fix

Like many great dishes, the operating principles of ceviche are simple: take seafood, marinate it in citrus, occasionally throw in some spice. If that doesn't sound good to you, you're probably an idiot. Living in Los Angeles and not liking ceviche is a lot like living in Germany and not liking hard ... More >>

Mo-Chica: The Best Peruvian Ceviche Might Be in a Warehouse South of Downtown

Raw deal

Eastern Promises: Asian Pacific Film Festival

Documentaries dominate, including Against the Grain and Up the Yangtze

Continuity Is For Sissies

Dennis Hopper's The Last Movie

Hearts On Fire

A Peruvian exile pines for anticuchos

Between the Lost and the Found

Daniel Alarcón and his novel of the disappeared

Hot-Wired

Where to find a Peruvian café con leche

Heart and Sole

Marcello Toshi shoes are labors of love

Swimming to Peru

Ask Mr. Gold

Under the Goat

Taste Globally, Picnic Locally

Rain Forest Crunch