Perusing Peru

>> Latino flavours and Spanish TV at El Chalan

by SPANKY HOROWITZ

I keep seeing these purple leaflets in the doorways of ethnic food markets, so one day I grabbed one on my way out. When I got home to look at the thing, it was all in Spanish! It didn't really matter because there are no stories in it, just ads. Well, maybe it's not that different from most magazines!

Every issue of RHumor is jam-packed with ads for "Hispanic" businesses. Now I know where to pawn my Argentinean diamonds or catch a Spanish TV special on Ricky Martin. I also know where to eat if I want to taste some food with a little Latino flavour, whether it be from Argentina, Mexico or Peru.

I chose El Chalan, not because their ad was more attractive than the others, but because it was within walking distance from my house, and it was raining out. The place looks like a nice family restaurant but, as the ad says, it can just as easily be considered for "cenas intimas," which was what I had in mind. My intentions of a romantic meal forced me to sit near the front of the room, because the back was filled with Peruvian families eating, drinking and watching a satellite feed of Laura en America, which was basically a female Spanish Jerry Springer.

The menu is in Spanish and French, but each item corresponds to a number to aid you in your questioning and ordering. I started with papa a la huancaina ($4), a popular Peruvian snack made from a boiled potato. Peru boasts dozens of varieties of potato, so they put a lot of effort into making them look and taste good. My potato was sliced thick and generously covered in a delicious bright yellow cheese sauce. It was served with some hard-boiled egg and was resting on some lettuce leaves that I used to mop the rest of the sauce.

We also tried the sopa sustancias, a special Peruvian soup with beef and noodles. The soup costs five bucks, and we understood why when it arrived at our table. Our meal-sized bowl was filled to the brim with a very hearty beef broth, large chunks of braised beef, potatoes, diced onions and tomatoes, topped off with a more than liberal pinch of fresh cilantro. If this wasn't enough, there were the noodles. I don't know if noodles figure prominently in Peruvian cuisine, but if they do, they're either very difficult to find in Canada, or Peruvians eat Italian spaghetti, because Italian spaghetti was what I got. To be honest, it didn't take away from the flavour of the soup, so they don't lose any points with me: If it tastes good, it is good.

We tried two main dishes, arroz con mariscos ($13) and milanesa de pollo ($12). The former, which was #23 on the menu, was your basic paella with a Peruvian twist. It was spiced very nicely and full of whole shrimp (frozen), squid, mussels, fish onions, shallots, cilantro and various other paella goodies. I truly enjoyed it, and finished every last morsel of rice.

The pollo was a flattened and breaded filet of chicken breast, served with rice. The dish was adorned with enough lettuce and tomato to be considered a side salad, and was garnished with a wedge of lemon and some mustard for dipping. The chicken was cooked perfectly, and it too was cleaned from its plate.

We needed dessert like we needed something we didn't need, but we ordered it anyway. The postre of choice was a sort of flan, which was syrupy goodness. So listen, go eat at El Chalan: it's good and it's Peruvian.

Comments? foodspanky@hotmail.com

El Chalan

Address: 520 Beaubien E.

Phone: 272-5585

Hours: Sun, Tues-Thurs 11am-11pm; Fri & Sat 11am-3am; closed Mondays

Best features: Unpretentious, authentic Peruvian food

Alcohol: Yes

Vegetarian friendly: No

Wheelchair access: Yes

Credit cards: Yes

Price: $5-25, excluding alcohol, tax and tip

Rating: *** out of ****