Inka's Peruvian Restaurant

Since neither I nor the Housemate had ever eaten Peruvian food, the arrival of a menu for a new Peruvian restaurant  (With a $5 discount coupon) on our front porch was cause for great interest this morning.  It was heavy on the seafood, but since neither of us tend to order fish from a restaurant that's an unknown quantity, we opted for a selection of appetizers and an order of something called chicha morada, a drink made from purple corn and pineapple.  

They didn't have one of the dishes we wanted, plata rellena, an avocado stuffed with chicken, vegetables and mayo, so we asked the gal taking the order what she'd suggest as an alternative and she said "causa rellena."  We said "okay then."  We also ordered a tamale and papa a la huancaina.

The meal arrived in a timely manner and to our surprise and delight we found that they'd included an order of papa rellena  a potato croquette stuffed with meat and veggies, "on the house."  The croquettes were excellent and so large that we both agreed that it was for the best that we'd only opted for appetizers.  The tamale was larger than we're used to in Mexican cuisine and very tasty, especially with the wicked good salsa criolla, a vinegary sauce filled with tomato and red onion.  

The salsa  also complimented the causa rellena, a beautiful layered cake of potato, chicken salad, avocado, yellow pepper and lime juice.  I have to say I think that was my favorite of all the dishes we ordered.  The papa al la huancaina was pieces of boiled potato in a thin cheese sauce.  It was also quite good as was the chicha morada, a strange and wonderful purple beverage with a mild, spicy, fruity flavor.  It wasn't too sweet which won high marks from both of us.  Along with the criolla we got several containers of a green sauce which had a nice amount of heat to it.  I think it was huacatay sauce, though I'm not sure.  In any event it was a lot of fun trying the sauces on each dish either separately or in combination.  The criolla has won my heart, but then I favor tart flavors to heat.  

The three appetizers and one drink came to $20 with the $5 discount, which I think was very reasonable.  With the papas rellenas, there was enough food to make both of us uncomfortably full with just a bit left over.  We phoned the restaurant when we finished to thank them for a delicious meal.  I don't think they quite knew what to think.  But it's a new place and they deserved a pat on the back for providing a really delicious and attractive meal.  I hope Inka will last; I know we'll be ordering from them again, and I hope we'll be able to stop down there for lunch or dinner one day soon.  I'd give them five stars but this relationship is new.  We'll see how things shake out.