taria, elige los tres huariques a los que siempre va “cuando quiero sentirme cómoda, pasarla bien y comer rico”. El pri-mero es Al Toke Pez (Avda. Angamos Este, 886), que dio la vuelta al mundo al aparecer en el programa Street Food, de Netflix. Alrededor de una barra donde caben 15 personas, Tomás Matsufuji, mejor conocido como Toshi, se entrega al fuego y a la experimentación porque “no todo es buena sazón y sentimientos”. Su plato estrella es un trío compues-to por cebiche, chicharrón de calamares y arroz con maris-cos, una explosión de sabor en la boca que un centenar de personas disfruta cada día. “Cuando uno visita un país quie-re comer lo que la gente de a pie: una comida honesta, más simple, menos pomposa, más directa”, dice Toshi. Eso es justamente lo que ha buscado transmitir Renzo Miñan en su Cumpa Taberna Criolla (Jirón Leoncio Prado 498) y en Cumpita (Jirón Leoncio Prado, 488), que se ubi-ca justo al lado y ofrece tapas criollas. Cumpa, que significa compadre o amigo, presenta un tipo de comida nostálgi-ca que intenta rememorar los sabores de su infancia en el norte del Perú. “Cocinamos nuestros guisos en olla, donde le damos mucha pasión al fuego lento para que los sabo-res se amalgamen con toques dulces, ahumados y podero-sos. Nuestra cocina es puro corazón”, dice Renzo mientras presenta sus tortitas de choclo (maíz) con cebiche de pota “como lo comía de niño en el mercado central de Chiclayo”. La tercera elección de Arlette es el Canta Ranita (Jirón Unión, 147), ubicado en el mercado El Capullo, en el veci-no distrito de Barranco. Después de atravesar el puesto del cerrajero, la carnicera y el zapatero, se ubica esta cebichería donde Vicente Furgiuele está atento a la música, al fútbol y al extraordinario tiradito apaltado que prepara. Su pla-to insignia (pescado laminado crudo, limón, aceite de oli-va, alcaparras y aguacate) fue un invento fortuito que se ha convertido en un clásico de la cocina de barrio. “Un hecho incuestionable en el Perú es que tenemos una diversidad climática que propicia una riqueza de flora y fauna que, en términos gastronómicos, se traduce en una extensa varie-dad de insumos”, dice Javier Masías. Toda esa variedad y riqueza están presentes en los huari-ques. Lugares que no aspiran a formar parte de las grandes ligas gastronómicas. Por naturaleza, esta cocina de barrio busca generar algo mucho más difícil que los galardones: un estado de ánimo que se parezca lo más posible a la felicidad. ENG There’s no Peruvian who doesn’t have a favourite huarique. Many years ago, this word of uncertain origin used to refer to a hiding place for conspirators, petty thieves or fugitives. Over time, it lost its dark associations but kept its reputation as a secret place. Today, in all its meanings, a huarique is a small gastronomic temple that shies away from tablecloths, tasting menus and tourist guides. “A good tip for eating well in Lima is to watch out for the place where locals are queuing to get in” advises Javier Masías, a food journalist and one of the judges on a TV show for aspiring chefs. In the huariques, which almost never take bookings, diners usually wait on the street for their favour-ite restaurant to open its doors. “The Surquillo district is one of the places with the most and the best restaurants per square metre in Peru” says Luciano Mazzetti, chef by profession as well as food influ-encer and television show host, who reveals three of his favourite huariques. Top of his list is S’Concha (Jirón Leoncio Prado, 645) run by Christian Cuadros, who worked as a maitre in luxury restaurants until four years ago, when he opened his own premises in the family home. In the former living room where he celebrated his children’s birthdays and under the watchful eye of his great-grandparents’ por-trait, Christian is guided by the motto “if you’re a big eater ask for a platter”. Many of his dishes contain black cockles, a type of mollusc found only in the mangroves of northern Peru and whose high zinc content has earned it the reputa-tion of having aphrodisiac powers. A few metres away, in the busiest and most colourful aisle of Market No. 2, between grocery and vegetable stalls, is Huerta Chinén (Lizardo Montero, 705). Angélica Chinén has been serving more than 300 people a day for 38 years. Her speciality is home-made stews like patita con maní, a typical Creole dish that features the most seldom-used cut of beef, the hooves, which are rich in collagen, and slow-cooks them with peanuts over a low heat. The dishes on her extensive menu are priced at 15 soles each (3.70 euros). The best chicharrón in Lima is eaten right here This Peruvian version of the crispy pork roll is the classic local Sunday breakfast. The recipe is apparently simple: pork belly boiled and then fried in its own lard. But each huarique has its own secret. In 1991, Esther and Rodrigo opened Chicharronería Rodri (Jirón Gonzales Prada, 700) on a busy corner of Surquillo. The often-called “best chich-arrón in Lima” is seasoned with medicinal herbs like pai-co (Mexican tea) and rue, said to have the power to cleanse your energies. In a business that involves children, neph-ews and sisters-in-law, Rodri prepares the filled rolls while Esther serves the more than 500 people who crowd into the place at weekends. The bread, she says, is always home-baked. Creole tapas and slow-cooked stews From her restaurant Matria (Avda. Gral. Mendiburu, 823) Arlette Eulert, chef, tireless traveller and university profes-sor, chooses the three huariques she always goes to “when I want to feel comfortable, have a good time and eat delicious food”. The first is Al Toke Pez (Avda. Angamos Este, 886), which went viral around the world when it was featured on the Netflix show Street Food. Around a bar that seats up to 15 people, Tomás Matsufuji, better known as Toshi, gives him-self up to fire and experimentation because “it’s not all about good seasoning and feelings”. His star dish is a trio consist-ing of ceviche, squid chicharrón and seafood rice, an explo-sion of flavour in the mouth enjoyed by around a hundred people on a daily basis. “When you visit a country, you want to eat what ordinary people eat: an honest, simpler, less pompous, more direct meal” Toshi says. That’s exactly what Renzo Miñan has wanted to convey in his Cumpa Taberna Criolla (Jirón Leoncio Prado 498) and in Cumpita (Jirón Leoncio Prado, 488) located right next door and serving Creole tapas. Cumpa, short for compadre or friend, presents a kind of nostalgic food that attempts to recall the flavours of his childhood in northern Peru. “We cook our stews in a pot, where we give them a lot of pas-sion on a low heat so the flavours blend together with sweet, smoky, powerful hints. Our cooking is pure heart” says Renzo as he presents his corn pancakes with squid ceviche “just like I used to eat it as a child in the central market in Chiclayo”. Arlette’s third choice is Canta Ranita (Jirón Unión, 147) based in El Capullo market, in the neighbouring district of Barranco. After passing by the locksmith’s, butcher’s and shoemaker’s stall you come to this ceviche stall where Vicente Furgiuele pays equal attention to the music, the football and the extraordinary fish strips with avocado he prepares. His flagship dish (raw thinly sliced fish, lemon, olive oil, capers and avocado) was a fortuitous invention that has become a classic of neighbourhood cooking. “An unquestionable fact here in Peru is that we have a climate diversity that encourages a wealth of flora and fauna, which, in food terms, translates into a massive variety of inputs” says Javier Masías. All that variety and richness are present in the huari-ques. They’re places that don’t aspire to be part of the major gastronomic leagues. By nature, this neighbourhood cook-ing seeks to bring about something much more difficult to achieve than awards: a state of mind that’s as close as possi-ble to happiness. LIMA Arlett Eulert, chef y viajera. // Arlette Eulert, chef and traveller. LIMA Vuelos // Flights: MADRID Los sabores de Lima son Patrimonio Cultural Inmaterial de la Humanidad según la Unesco, si quieres conoceros, Air Europa te lleva desde Madrid hasta la ciudad peruana con un vuelo diario. // The flavours of Lima are Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity ac-cording to Unesco. If you want to taste them for yourself, Air Europa takes you from Madrid to the Peruvian city on a daily flight. www.aireuropa.com