Carlitos: El Sabor de Peru



Pollada con ensalada y papas fritas

Buenos Aires, while a great eating town, is not the place you come to indulge in a wide variety of "ethnic" cuisines. Although a tremendous number of different ethnicities are represented in the cultural make-up of the city, when it comes to the restaurant scene, Argentine restaurants, with their emphasis on meat and pasta (and, of course, pizza) dominate. There are a number of Chinese places in Belgrano's Barrio Chino, a smattering of Middle-Eastern joints in Palermo, and a few expensive Japanese and "Southeast-Asian fusion" restaurants in Palermo Hollywood. However, since our guiding philosophy most of the time is "cheap, delicious, and close to home", we end up going to our favorite Peruvian restaurant, Carlitos, probably twice a week.

As I mentioned before, we technically live in the "ritzy" neighborhood of Recoleta, final resting place of Evita Peron and home to a lot of BA's "old money". However, we live on the southern edge of Recoleta, a mere one block from the distinctly downmarket neighborhood of Abasto, spiritual home of the tango and Argentine icon Carlos Gardel [note: a series on the different barrios of Buenos Aires is upcoming]. Abasto is also the home to many of BA's Peruvian immigrants, of which there are probably a couple of hundred thousand. Peruvian food culture is highly developed and centers around three things: potatoes, seafood, and chicken. They are experts in preparing the abovementioned items (and, unlike the Argentines, like some picante in their food).There are bunches of Peruvian restaurants within walking distance of our place, but we've made hole -in-the-wall Carlitos our go-to spot.

Carlitos has an extensive menu, and we've tried a few different things: papas huancaina (potatoes in a creamy sauce), cabrito con porotos ("mountain goat w/ beans" according to the menu), jalea mixta (a mountain of fried fish, shrimp, octopus, squid and mussels w/ lemony onions), not to mention chicken prepared a half-dozen ways. Lately though, we've been obsessed with the pollada con ensalada y papas fritas (fried chicken w/ salad and "friendo" potatoes) accompanied by a side of creamy white beans. Delicious! And cheap. The above (easily big enough for two people), along with a liter of ice-cold Heineken, costs around thirteen bucks. We're hooked. There are actually two branches within a couple of blocks of each other - the original funky one and a newer flashier one - we prefer the funky one (see photos). It's always packed w/ Peruvian families demolishing huge platters of food while drinking candy-colored soft drinks. It's loud, friendly, and fun...and the food - riquissimo!