Saturday in Santiago: Esquina de Dioses
From unassuming joints to world class dining rooms, Santiago is home to a multitude of Peruvian restaurants of all types. One of the latter, La Mar, is delicious but sadly outside the day to day budget. So when I heard that La Mar’s former chef had set up shop at the brand new Esquina de Dioses in Bellavista, Rodolfo and I knew where we were headed for dinner.
We started with massive pisco sours. Good but not the best we’ve had. The same could be said of the photos in this post, all of which were taken and edited with my phone. Much as I love food blogging, sometimes I just don’t feel like hefting the big camera around on my dates.
The ceviche was well-balanced, and the portion size avoided being overwhelming without being stingy. My main complaint was that Esquina de Dioses puts cancha in this dish instead of on the side. These salty Peruvian corn nuts are strangely addictive, and I like them crunchy rather than softened by lemon juice.
Rodolfo and I got the two specials. His Peruvian barbecue, pork loin in a spicy red sauce, didn’t quite fit the typical Peruvian flavor profile. It tasted delicious, but it took him a bite or two to reset his taste buds. A solid dish but not one to go for if you’re looking forward to standard Peruvian food.
My mote risotto in a huancaina sauce offered the flavors I was looking for in a new format. The fried fish surprised me by being salmon rather than a white fish, and the tang of the salmon worked beautifully with the creamy, slightly spicy risotto. This one is a winner.
Next time we visit Esquina de Dioses, we’re looking forward to trying some Peruvian menu standbys to see how they stack up against the competition. Because based on the specials, it certainly looks like Santiago has another good option when it comes to Peruvian food.
More in this series:
Saturday in Santiago
Mmm – Peruvian food is delish!
It’s been one of my favorite discoveries since living in Chile!
ceviche – one of my favourite dishes, I have many pictures of cerviche (and similar dishes like Ika Mata) from around the world….
The colors of ceviche really make for a pretty photograph.