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Published: October 8th 2016
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I know that pictures of my food is a little cliché, but Cusco, Peru really deserves some limelight. As vegans, Orion and I know the struggle of finding a balanced vegan meal. We honestly had no idea what typical Peruvian cuisine would consist of, but we imagined there would be beans and plantains.
Our first few meals were a hassle. It seems that Peruvians will not answer “I don’t know” and will instead send you on a goose chase to somewhere that possibly doesn’t exist. Fortunately after scouring the city for vegetarian restaurants, we stumbled upon a cornucopia of vegan delicacies in the San Blas neighborhood.
Without further ado, a bit on the things we ate:
Prasada (Pura Vida!) on Qanchapata: Owned and operated by a Peruvian that embodies the Pura Vida attitude of Costa Rica this was one of our first vegan finds. It’s right next door to the Healing House and serves creative (and messy) lentil burgers, massive salads, and smoothies/juices so big that I needed to hands to hold the cup. Closed for dinner, but the other location around the corner is open! Try the Pura Vida burger and
Snickers milkshake.
Prasada Vegan Temple on Choquechaka; Owned by the same guy, we visited this spot every day we were in Cusco. The food was amazing – all vegan spins on the Prasada menu, curries, smoothies, tea… Aside from the great food we loved Raphael, the cook/server/friendly face who we now consider a friend. If you are in Cusco, you MUST go. Everything is amazing.
PerUK: Just off the Southwest corner of the Plaza de Armas in Cusco, this place spins on typical Peruvian dishes. It’s not all vegan, but they have enough items on the menu to enjoy a couple meals. I got to try ceviche vegan style (YUM) and they had an amazing chimchurri with bread. Beautiful presentation, classy joint, AND they let us watch the Eagles game.
Salud de Luz: This spot is a bit farther South in Cusco, sort of near the San Pedro market. For 12 soles it’s a set menu starting with warm pineapple juice and an ayurvedic style soup, entrée, and dessert. It wasn’t particularly conscious about including protein, but felt like really clean food that was clearly made and presented with passion. Located
in the courtyard of a swanky hotel and presented on copper plateware.
Green Point on Tandikapata: We found this place too late! For 15 soles the set menu includes juice, salad bar with bread, soup, entrée and dessert and it was some top notch food. We had the menu 3 times and they got pretty creative with stuff. The salad bar was different every day and was the highlight of the meal. The regular menu looked pricey, but the presentation and style was probably worth it. All vegan, organic and fresh ingredients.
Raw Vegan Shaman: We ate at the community style table and chatted with some folks who knew about other vegan spots in the area. The food was clearly prepared with love and presented very well. Orion and I shared a soup and sandwich. They serve the meals with a trio of sauces that were quite yum. From here, we were suggested to stay at the Healing House in San Blas and try to vegan spots nearby.
El Encuentro: Our first vegetarian find. They have a set menu, but I didn’t get it. My food here was so-so, but I
really enjoyed the lunch salad bar that is included with any meal. The tiny potatoes were killer!
Carmencita’s Juice Bar in San Blas market: Okay, so this isn’t a restaurant, but we loved Carmencita. The market has a ton of juice stands differentiated only by the name of the woman running it. We found ourselves partial to Carmencita’s vase size juices and candy sweet carrots. For 4 soles we got a juice big enough to each have our own glass plus the extra.
Sabor y Vida: Miraflores, Lima. Super fast service. Set menu for 13 soles includes a chilled emoliente drink, bread, 1 of 3 starters, 1 of 3 entrees and desert. Delicious and pretty close to typical Peruvian cuisine. Ask which dishes are vegan as some of them have eggs or milk.
Germinando Vida: Barranco, Lima. Our final meal in Peru. Barranco is a neighborhood in southern Lima, about 2 hours from the neighborhood we were staying in. It’s like going to another country with palm trees and folks on dates doing nothing but looking at pretty things and eating. This fancy joint lived up to the neighborhood and the
Entree at Green Point
Quinoa pesto with rollatini presentation and construction of the dishes were artwork. We had lemongrass tea, a guac/cashew cream/tomato/sprout/etc tapas on bread, artichoke soup, quinoa risotto, and a decadent avocado based cacao pudding with nuts, gojis, blueberries, and strawberries. At 91 soles it was by far our most expensive meal, but we had to spend the money before we left the country (and that is still only $30)!
Mulu: Second floor spot overlooking the market in Pisac of the Sacred Valley. They don’t have a ton of staff and get busy, so expect a bit of a wait, but the food is totally worth it. They have superfood juices and smoothies. We tried the curry and the other vegan dish (it can be made regular, veggie or vegan). Super creative fusion dishes with style.
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