Las Canteras
photo: Anne McDonough
Is Peruvian DC's new hot cuisine? Here are the latest restaurants to deliver a touch of South American sizzle:
Las Canteras in Adams Morgan sells well-priced authentic standards as well as updated quinoa dishes in its red-walled, second-floor dining room, charmingly accented with native fabric and crafts. Be sure to sample the killer pisco sours in its tile-fronted bar (202-265-1780).
Over on Rockville Pike, recent newcomer La Limeña serves homestyle Peruvian dishes – Cuban too – in a spare storefront setting where chickens and steaks sputtering on the grill and rotisserie pass for decor. It doesn't have a liquor license yet, but it does offer unusual maize- and fruit-based nonalcoholic drinks (301-424-8066).
Trend-setter Mauricio Fraga-Rosenfeld (Maté, Ceviche,
Gua-Rapo, etc.) is planning to open Yaku, a restaurant-lounge serving Peruvian-Chinese (Chifa) cuisine, in the Odyssey building in Arlington by late summer or early fall. You can sample Yaku's dishes at Ceviche, which is offering a three-course menu preview through the end of June ($30 per person; 301-608-0081).