We headed northwest from Titicaca yesterday morning on a long journey to the Colca Valley and ended the day for our overnight at the not so luxurious Colca Lodge. The lodge is famous for it's hot springs, and I welcomed the hot tub fed directly by the springs on our secluded private terrace overlooking the valley with its pre-Incan agricultural terraces. So the fact that the shower had natural rain coming in through a leak and lots of squeaky doors was made up for by the location, springs and restaurant.
The bread and whole wheat grissini that came with garlic butter were okay, but nothing compared to what we had on our journey so far. We also learned from the English menu translation(very good) that the local herb huacatey is called "black mint" in English, although it is not very minty.
We had Passion Sours to start which were Pisco Sours with passionfruit added and while a hint sweet at first, got more sour from the lime as you drank more!
Samuel started with the Taboule de quinua which was a gorgeous tabbouleh/quinoa salad with peas, carrots, corn, pepper and avocado with a fig and peach compote(which he skipped). As always there are FB fotos available.
Will had the Tartare de Trucha nuestro estilo which was a huge portion of trout tartare with quinoa, apple, avocado and curry sauce with toasted Andean bread(rolls). I tired the Causa de Trucha ahumada and while the causa is a famous national potato dish, here there were three (room temp) mashed potato towers with avocado, quail egg, smoked trout, aji amarillo sauce with capers and sprouts that was a wonderful take on the traditional causa.
Will and I enjoyed a 1/2 bottle of Tabernero Peruvian Blanco de Blanco which was a blend of Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc and Sauvignon Blanc that was super with our trout dishes. We ordered a bottle of Intipalka 2015 Syrah for our main courses since a bottle often costs less than 2 glasses or 3 here...we shall enjoy the rest of this plummy wine with a hint of tannins tonight before bed. I have to say I was impressed by the Spiegelau crystal, although we did have Riedel at the MAP Café in Cusco.
Samuel had Le pizzeta caprese of mozzarella, candied tomatoes, olive oil and basil which was gone before I could even get a taste, and while he said it was good, it was not as good as the other pizzas he has had.
Will loved his Aji de Gallina,con cremoso queso Andino, which was a take on the local chicken dish with aji amarillo sauce here with cheese and pecans. I loved my Risotto de quinoa con lomitos de res en aromas de saltado y pisco which was a beautiful quinoa risotto with sautéed sirloin tips marinated in lomo saltado sauce with pisco.
There was no room for dessert, but we did miss our Badoit from back in Cusco as here the local San Mateo sparkling is VERY gassy.
