Two nights in Lima
and the world's your churro
Time again for another great invitation. My friend had a milestone birthday and decided to hike Macchu Picchu. She called and said “I’m not inviting you to hike Macchu Picchu” - which is the best gift I could be given. “But if I get a reservation at Central do you want to come?” Say less, Alison.
Central, for those whose algorithm feeds them more than food, was the top of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants in 2023. Now that I’ve been to Lima, I have a better sense of how hard this is since I’m not sure how you’d even choose the best in Lima, let alone the world.
Alison and I have had some good meals. And some good trips. As long as these invites keep coming, I’ll keep flying out for dinner.
Central went very theme - and a great one. Altitudes. The print menu featured a sliding bar - you can slide it to your course to see the altitude at which those ingredients are found.
My favorite subreddit recently has been r/Ephemera - that stuff that some people see as trash but in 30 years will bring much nostalgia. I’m always shocked at how people surface 1940s Valentine’s cards or an original Broadway playbill from Barbra Streisand in Funny Girl. [actually, I can answer this one - my mom kept hers and it ended up in the crawlspace tucked inside the original issue of Ms. Magazine.] While lots of restaurants now provide a menu to take home, Central took this to a new level. We received the aforementioned menu, hinting at the dishes. We got an illustrated card showing some of their favorite Peruvian ingredients. Also two full books - actual books, one of which was illustrations by Peruvian artists.
While my friends [old and new] headed out to Cusco to acclimate for their climbing adventure, I jumped back into the car with Antonio and headed for Maido. Madio, headed by Japanese-Peruvian chef-genius Mitsuharu Tsumura, was the world’s best restaurant in 2025. Yes, in the span of 18 hours I ate two of what would be Michelin 3 star restaurants if the Peruvian tourist authority paid Michelin to come do reviews. Fun fact, that’s how you get Michelin to your city and that’s how Orlando got starred restaurants. Sushi at Soseki was great - thanks to the Orlando tourism board for giving them this shot.
Anyway, Maido. I have a confession. I did, in fact, pregame the world’s best restaurant with a snack. [We had shared a lomo saltado the night before - giving me this genius idea.] I found a churreria. A churroscuria? A churro shop. Whatever. A place with churros. Pulled out my high school Spanish [gracias Señora Nelson-Meyer of Buffalo Grove High School] and told the woman working that I had one chance for a churro in Lima, as I was leaving that night, and asked for a recommendation. Dulce de leche it was - far be for me to argue with the expert.
Maido is like no other fine dining restaurant I’ve been to. The food is glorious, of course, sushi and ceviche and suckling pig and silverfish in three textures, as one does. So how does this best in class restaurant differentiate? I’ve never seen an active, lively, vibrant, frankly noisy 3 Star. Central and Noma and Sorn seem to command whispers and reverence. I’m not sure if it’s because I was alone, but I got no explanation of the history of the plates, the inspiration of the chef and his feelings on sustainability and legacy. What I did get, though, was an incredible meal and the thought that it would be way more fun in a group.
The chef was on the floor, visiting and serving and wearing JEANS. He was friendly and outgoing and helpful. He must be funny; apparently there is a Latin American saying “like an egg on ceviche” for something that doesn’t belong. The ceviche course, of course, was all raw fish made to look like eggs over easy and bacon.
You know that local restaurant we all have? It could be red sauce, it could be ramen, it could be your favorite breakfast diner. Whatever it is, it’s your spot, where you could eat over and over again and you’d feel at home. That’s what Chef Tsumura made me think of - the old guy slinging slices on your corner in NYC - in the very best of ways. My mom’s spot for 20 years was Egg Harbor, an Illinois chain that had the same servers for ages who knew to bring her iced tea right away and always had time for great[-grandchildren pictures.
I don’t know how how many repeat customers are at Maido weekly or even monthly. I left glad I don’t live closer, or it could get very expensive, but I do hope to return. With noisy friends and a dulce de leche churro - if it ain’t broke….