Cuy - Guinea pig - in Cusco, Peru

Would you like fries with that? What to eat in Cusco, Peru.

Do you want to know what to eat in Cusco, Peru? Fries. All the fries.

I love fries. I really do. A good fry is heaven. Crispy on the outside, velvety soft on the inside, a touch of salt. Perfection.

But in Peru they are always just greasy and limp. Disappointing.

And, when eating in Cusco, Peru, fries come with everything. Everything.


I never thought I’d get sick of fries. But I also don’t need them twice a day…

 

What to eat in Cusco, Peru. Including all the fries you could ever want.

Soup at San Pedro Market in Cusco, Peru. What to eat in Cusco, Peru.

Fried fish at San Pedro Market in Cusco, Peru. What to eat in Cusco, Peru.

A two-course lunch of soup and fried fish with rice, salad, and beans for 4 soles (about $1.50) at San Pedro Market. Note: I could have gotten fries instead of beans.

 

Beef with fried rice and fries in Cusco, Peru. What to eat in Cusco, Peru.

Beef with fried rice and fries. They have some weird combinations.

 

Lomo Saltado in Cusco, Peru. What to eat in Cusco, Peru.

Lomo saltado: a Peruvian stir fry of beef, onions, and tomatoes (this version also had mushrooms and peppers) served with rice and, you guessed it, fries.

 

Aji Gallina in Cusco, Peru. What to eat in Cusco, Peru.

Aji Gallina: spicy Peruvian creamed chicken. Mixed with fries.

 

Arroz mixto at San Pedro Market in Cusco, Peru. What to eat in Cusco, Peru.

Arroz mixto at San Pedro Market. Sausage, avocado, runny egg, salad, plantain, rice, and, yup, fries.

 

Chicharrón in Cusco, Peru. What to eat in Cusco, Peru.

Chicharrón, because who doesn’t love crispy, fatty, deep-fried pork? This didn’t come with fries. But there was a potato.

 

Brownie and hot chocolate at the chocolate museum in Cusco, Peru. What to eat in Cusco, Peru.

Brownie and hot chocolate at the Chocolate Museum Cusco. Because there was a chocolate museum in Cusco, just down the street from my hostel. Luckily, no chocolate-dipped fries.

 

Trout ceviche in Cusco, Peru. What to eat in Cusco, Peru.

Trout ceviche. Which didn’t come with fries but did come with sweet potato. And giant corn.

 

Cuy - Guinea pig - in Cusco, Peru. What to eat in Cusco, Peru.

And, of course, Cuy. Which is guinea pig. And guinea pig is a thing to eat in Peru. You’ll find it at the markets and in restaurants. I even saw cages of the animals, ripe for cooking, while making stops trekking the Colca Canyon. And is a weird thing to eat: the skin was a little too crispy and the meat too hard to get into. I’m not sure if it was the best cuy in Cusco, but I’m also not sure I’d ever want to try other guinea pigs to find out. But it was at least worth trying for the story. Or so I will tell myself.

 

Hi, I'm Val. I spent most of my 20s in a standstill, unable to pick which path in life I wanted to take. I wanted the nomadic life of a traveler but also wanted the husband, the condo, and the kitten. Unable to decide which life I wanted more, I did nothing. When I turned 30 I’d had enough of putting my life on hold and decided to start “choosing my figs.” So, I quit my job, bought a one-way ticket to Europe, and traveled for three years. Now I'm back in Chicago, decorating my apartment in all the teal, petting my cats, and planning my next adventure.

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6 Comments
  • Nicole
    August 23, 2014at3:47 pm

    This might be one of my favorite posts of all time. I just went to a Peruvian restaurant for the first time last weekend. I couldn’t believe the starch! I had pork and sun-dried POTATO stew, with a side of RICE and yup, that’s right, YUCCA FRIES! They love their tubers! 🙂

  • rebecca
    August 26, 2014at10:23 pm

    oh this reminds me of Germany, I love Germany food and am also a big Fries lover but the food in Germany is always sided with Fries.. and the small ones.. I only like the big ones

  • Ali
    September 4, 2014at10:39 am

    I’m glad you labeled all of these. I really had no idea the big corn was corn until I read what you wrote underneath. It’s kind of freakishly big! Also, your cuy looked a bit over the top!

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