Showing posts with label flan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label flan. Show all posts

Sunday, March 22, 2020

Lonzo's is Culver City's Tiny Peruvian Gem

Since we all now have so much time in our hands from not going out, I figured it's time to catch up on all my blog posts. I decided to highlight places and meals you can go to once the pandemic is over, but also I wanted to highlight places that are still doing takeout/ delivery, so you can help support small businesses while the Safer At Home order is underway.

First up is Lonzo's, a small Peruvian eatery in Culver City. Lonzo's started as a little bakery 14 years ago by Jose and Miriam Ramirez, but their nephew Walther Adrianzen also started serving his Peruvian cooking that even won over the late and great Jonathan Gold. The food quality and presentation are rather unexpected given the small size of the eatery, but no wonder it is packed.
Lonzo’s
I was invited for a tasting, so we had smaller portions than a regular order. We started with grilled prawn causa with ground yellow aji pepper and lime juice.
Lonzo's
Wasn't expecting this fancy plating! The butterflied prawn was lightly grilled and served on top of yellow potato causa.

Adrianzen has his own signature dishes here now, not just traditional Peruvian dishes, including the Parmesan scallops (Peruvian diver scallops, aji amarillo butter, yuzu, ponzu, parmesan cheese)
DSC05633
The parmesan scallops are reminiscent of a scallop dynamite with all the cheese and butter baked on top of the scallops.

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Mario's Peruvian: Great Seafood

After my trip to Peru last summer, I fell in love with Peruvian cuisine, but I haven't managed to try many of the Peruvian restaurants in LA. One of the ones I've had my eye on is Mario's but since it's kinda far it's hard to drag someone there. When I finally had the chance to do so, I immediately went. There was a wait and the small restaurant was packed. We waited about 30 minutes - since it was cold I waited inside but felt kind of in the way of all the servers bringing food/dishes in/out.

By the time we got seated, we already knew what we wanted to order.
We wanted something light with seafood, so instead of going with the deep fried stuff, we went with the Siete Mares soup ($13.00)The seafood was fresh, and the broth was very delicious! The name siete mares means "seven seas" so I tried counting the number of seafood types: squid, crab, shrimp, clam, mussels, fish, octopus. This is a relatively light dish - again, I Loved the broth. Do give it a try sometime!

I ordered the lomo saltado ($11.25) since I've been craving it for a while! Lomo saltado is beef sauteed with onions, tomatoes, and french fries.
The meat was a little tough, but the flavors were excellent. I love the fries also and kept eating them with the fragrant rice! Next time I might try out the seafood version, saltado mariscos, so I can avoid having my beef overcooked and yet still get to taste the delicious flavor of saltado.

For good measure we ordered dessert: Crema volteada/flan ($3.00)
This is a pretty heavy duty flan! Rich and dense - a bit too dense for my taste although it's still tasty. Eat in moderation :P

Overall I loved Mario's. The food was excellent although I would stick with the seafood as the meat can be tough and overcooked ... The line can be long during dinner time, so go early or just prepare to wait! (It's worth it!!)

Mario's Peruvian & Seafood
5786 Melrose Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90038
(323)466-4181

Mario's Peruvian Seafood on Urbanspoon

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