terrific tanta

I love it when you can use alliteration in the title of a post - LOL... especially when the food is terrific like the meal we shared with friends Kevin & Shari tonight at Tanta.

So let's skip to the favorite overall- LOL this would be the dish voted to be the most outstanding regardless of category- the one that transcended its label - and that would be this dish-

LOL- more on that later!

we wanted to try Tanta and we were in luck that our friends - culinary scouts and front line adventure eaters were up for it... we all love ceviches and sashimi and trying new things as well- so we ordered a panoply of menu items to get an idea of what is on offer here at Tanta.

first here is some info from their website-

A JOURNEY: “Our menu is like traveling throughout Peru from the Pacific Ocean to playing in the desert to touring the Andes mountains, the reflection of the Lake Titicaca over the Altiplano, through the amazing colors and sounds of the Amazon Jungle... traveling, celebrating, sharing the flavors and joys of Peru and having fun with respect and gratitude to the Earth.”  - Gaston Acurio

those of you who have checked out the food scene in Lima in recent years will be familiar with the name Astrid & Gaston (which was for years the absolute top place to dine in Lima) and funny - LOL - this guy is Gaston too... not really he is renown and it is the SAME Gaston....

Gastón Acurio Jaramillo is a Peruvian chef and ambassador of Peruvian cuisine. He is owner of restaurants in several countries.   Together with his wife Astrid, he managed the restaurant Astrid & Gastón since 1994. It opened in the district of Miraflores in Lima and expanded in Latin America and recently in Europe, opening restaurants in Santiago de Chile, Bogotá, Quito, Caracas, Mexico City, all South America and Europe.

For years this guy has been the world wide face of Peruvian cuisine and he put it on the map....

 But let's get back to our meal- terrific tantalizing tasty Tanta... here is the menu piece by piece and what we chose and the photos of the beautiful food

the tanta (namesake) and the nikei-

my plate with the two ceviches and two tiraditos on awaiting tasting! 

the cremosa with salmon- and the classico from the tiraditos section and then the corazon from the Anticuchos section-

the chicharron from this section of the menu-

from the next section we had kick-butt empanadas and the amazing aeropuerto - pork fried rice- the winning dish (who knew fried rice could taste this divine?)

before the final table side mixing -

we were slowing down so- although the scallops with Parmesan were tempting - we went with the fried fish- and the pollo a la brasa-

despite its prominent placement in a box, we all decided that the chicken, while good, was less impressive than the other choices and we would skip that one next time-

believe it or not - there was still a dessert course - which we all tasted and approved of-

the chocolate mousse -

here is the menu in full and the cocktail I ordered to give it a try (Pisco Punch - caravedo pisco, lemon juice, watermelon juice, paprika)

the plates before we started the feast- which were switched out in each section of the meal -

so worthy of a return trip for sure - next time we can try a few new things and have a few old favorites - and just in case you wanted to eat outdoors they have a roof top bar and dining area as well.... first rate meal with first rate company- we both brought sparklers - an Argyle 2007 Julia Lee's (blanc de blancs) from us and K&S brought a Veuve Rose - both worked well with the variety of things we ate and especially given the citrus notes of many of the earlier courses.  Looking forward to a return visit!