Our last dinner in Cusco was right across the street from our hotel at the elegant and very beautiful MAP Cafe located in the awesome Museum of Precolumbian Art(hence MAP), which Will and I had visited earlier that day. The museum is in a beautiful colonial home and the 12 or so tables are inside a glass enclosure in the courtyard with some more tables outside, although it was way too cold to dine outside last night, with temps in the 50's as is normal in the Andean altitudes over 12000feet.
Our server Claudio offered us a complimentary drink called it a Raymi, which is Quecha for "party" and was elegantly served in a mini stemless martini glass sitting in a glass of ice. It was a combination of pisco, lime, gooseberry liqueur and aperol, which we all adored. We weren't sure that it was included and we have to admit that the 165 soles price(just a tad over $50 each), was an unbelievable deal for the 3 huge courses and this drink. The sparkling water was Badoit again, so it must be very popular in the finer restaurants here, and is always a welcome treat, as it's our favorite.
The unexciting amuse was sweet potato with parsley and sweet pepper and salt that didn't have a lot of taste, but luckily everything improved from here on. The breads arrived and were an amazing hit with Sam as there were quinoa grissini, purple corn rolls, pumpkin brioche and flatbread, All served with an olive oil and balsamic blend seasoned with the local huacatey herb.
We ordered a bottle of Intipalka por Santiago Queirolo Reserve 2015, which was a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah that we again fell in love with. I loved the adorable little plate for the sommelier to put the cork in front of me on.
Samuel's Sara Lawa Was a rich cream corn soup with thyme, cheese, broad beans, mushrooms and a poached egg on the bottom and the huacatey herb on top, which he raved about; the soup was poured into the bowl tableside so we could see all the ingredients beautifully arranged.. Will chose the Andean Tortellini in Brodo, which were filled with guinea pig and served in a chicken broth with Andean mushrooms, confit chicken breast, pickled oyster mushrooms, fava beans and crispy cuy (yup, guinea pig) rinds.
I went lighter with the Tiradito of Paiche(Amazon fish) with a mild sauce of jungle citrus fruits, camu camu and cocona with plantains and crispy uncusha(one of these was yuca and the other sweet potato). We were all impressed with all 3 starters and knew that it had to get even better from here.
We welcomed the long rest and then the palate cleanser which was a tangerine sorbet.
Samuel chose the Quinoa Cannelloni with Truffle, tomato pesto, arugula, and goat cheese filled with a fontina fonduta "poised over a bed of organic sauteed vegetables, chard stems and baby fennel bulb." Sadly the dish was so rich in truffles that it almost tasted sweet, it's what I might called overly French saucing. It also lacked the poise stated in the menu.
Will and I chose the Andean Arroz con Pato, which was a delicious crispy confit duck leg served with a rice and quinoa risotto with coriander pesto, corn and Peruvian chili sauce(mild). It was indeed perfect.
Dessert was included so we indulged and Sam having a deconstructed caramelized lemon pie of soft lemon cream, a cookie, burnt meringue and Maras salted caramel ice cream..yum.
Lucuma kisses was on my plate which was actually a large chocolate shell covering liquid creamy foamy and powdery lucuma in different textures with coffee flavored chocolate sorbet from Quillabamba on the side. The sorbet didn't win any prizes but boy was the chocolate shell with all of its different flavors and textures inside a big hit with me.
Will chose Tumbao of Tumbo, A Passion fruit curd with meringue spheres, kinicha crumble, moringa ganache, strawberry syrup and yogurt ice cream; another hit for three stars.
The service here was excellent and everything save for Sam's main course was truly impressive and except for that we really had a wonderful last night here in Cusco.
We spent the last night on the newest luxury train in Peru, the Andean Explorer under the Belmond flag(Orient-Express) and have now arrived at Lake Titicaca where we spend two nights at the amazing Titilika Relais et Chateau!
