sick

Ok, I think I´m over my nausea now. I actually did come down with a little stomach sickness the past few days...not sure if the cau cau is to blame or not. My bet is on my homemade simple syrup...let me explain.

I was trying to make my own pisco sours after some friends and I were given a special training from the bartender at El Cordano. Now this just isn´t any bar, it´s probably one of the most famous private establishments in Lima. Given it´s close proximity to the President´s dwelling, it´s the bar of choice for presidents and foreign diplomats for drinks, especially pisco sours. So back to the story... after the bartender gave us these special step by step instructions, I just had to give it a go at home. And since simple syrup (Jarabe de Goma) is a main ingredient, I thought I would make it from scratch. All it basically is one part sugar, one part water heated to a slow boil. However, when I made mine it tasted and smelled weird. Nevertheless I went on making mediocre pisco sours that night. And the next few days my stomach felt horrible. I still don´t know what it was, but I think it was something with that syrup. Maybe I didn´t boil it long enough or something for the water to be safe. Oh well.

After getting over the sickness, my friend Fran invited me out to eat with his family. We went to a very nice place right on the Pacific called El Hornero. They specialize in grilled meats and they do not joke around. Fran decided that he, I, and his brother could share an entree. So they brought out this MASSIVE mini grill piled high with a variety of meats and set it on the table in front of us. Unfortunately the picture doesn´t do it justice as ours was about twice as large if not more. It included chorizo, blood sausage, sirloin steak, pork chops, antichuchos, pig kidneys, and more. We maybe ate half of it between the three of us. I´m not sure if I´ve mentioned this yet but portions here are huge. You definitely get what you pay for and usually more.

Fattening up in Peru,

Shawn