El Characato de Oro / San Borja / Arequipian Food

El Characato de Oro
Av. Aviacion 3101
San Borja - 475-6346



I have a friend that lives in Lima. We share a meal every trip. One visit, I pick the place based on my internet research; the next visit, he picks and shows off his knowledge of the local restaurants. Lucky me -- he picked last time.

El Characato serves traditional food from Arequipa. Yup, it's all there... cuy and all the rest. I chose all the rest.

The restaurant is not fancy and shiny, but it is pretty popular, at least based on the crowd that was there at 3:00 pm on a Saturday.

As we were looking over the menu, my friend said that he was impressed with the menu, and pointed out the Adobo Soup as an example. He told me that you couldn't get it just anywhere, and it was often a Sunday-0nly dish. It turns out that they sell it there all weekend.

I love soups, so that was good enough for me. I ordered the soup as an appetizer and Chicharron Especial (fried pork pieces - sort of boneless ribs) for my main dish. My friend ordered a salad and the Adobo as his main course.

The soup was wonderful. The broth itself was extremely rich and flavorful and it had large chunks of meat, and the fried pork... well, it was fried pork. My friend liked his salad and enjoyed his soup as much as I did (click on all photos for larger versions).



I was full, but my amigo pointed out that they had Queso Helado on the menu for dessert. Literally translated, that means frozen cheese, but just don't believe everything you read. This dish was coconut milk, frozen just until it was about to get hard. So you get really cold, flaky deliciousness. I managed to find room for half of it.



The total check, including a pitcher of chicha morada and a shot of some anisette-like drink for my friend, came to 98 soles. I didn't need the second dish after the soup, but all in all, this was $35 well spent.

 

A follow-up visit blessed our table with a Chupe de Camarrones, a Ceviche de Pescado (northern style), Chocolo con Queso, Arroz con Mariscos, and of course, more Queso Helado. My amiga, who calls herself an Especialista en Camarrones, was especial-isticly pleased.

 

Well, JA, next time you can go no further than San Borja. Here's the rocoto relleno. It was 14 soles back when I was last there in January.