El Chalan

Few diners can resist this casual, traditional Peruvian eatery's jalea mixta, a platter of lightly battered fried seafood and yuca garnished with a crunchy chili-and-lime-marinated onion-and-pepper topping that beautifully balances the dish's grease component. One order is a meal for two, but if four split it as a starter, they could sample some of the other classics that make Peruvian cuisine one of the world's most diverse. Cau cau (tripe and potato stew in smooth yellow ají amarillo sauce), an ancient Incan dish, might be for the adventuresome, but El Chalan's cau cau de mariscos, a house special substituting shellfish for the offal, is accessible to all.