Peru meets Italy

I’ve tried many Peruvian-Italian fusion restaurants and have come across the same dishes I eat in the U.S.:  pasta pomodoro, raviolis of all sorts, chicken milanese, etc. For some reason, these Peruvian attempts at Italian-inspired food seem like one large blur formed out of non-memorable dishes. Today, for the first time, I ate at one restaurant that stood above all the other Italian restaurants.

For lunch, my parents and I went to the restaurant Dánica,where I was delighted to eat some food that was truly remarkable.  The three of us shared a salad of spinach with all the fresh veggies you could think of: carrots, tomato, corn, avocado, mushrooms, and peppers.  Crispy noodles on top added texture to the salad, and the honey mustard vinaigrette added a sweet note.

For my entree, I ordered chicken breast with mushroom sauce, which came with “arroz con choclo” (rice with corn in it), and an amazing assortment of sauteed vegetables- fresh artichoke hearts (not the canned ones I get in the U.S.), red and green bell peppers, asparagus, and mushrooms.

Dánica converted me into a Peruvian-Italian fusion lover. Well maybe not exactly- nothing can top the chicken parmesan I order at Ottomanelli’s in New York City. Nevertheless, I would definitely go back to Dánica.