But when it comes to beef, you might be disappointed. This is understandable if you look at Peruvian geography. Two-thirds of the country are covered in jungle. The rest is either desert or very high mountains. That doesn't leave much favorable terrain for raising beef cattle. This means that local meat is mostly chicken, alpaca, pork, or cuy (guinea pig). If you want good red meat, it's best to look for imported beef from Brazil, Argentina, or the US.
Yet, Peruvians like red meat. One of the classic national dishes is called lomo saltado, which features strips of beef, grilled in soy sauce with sweet peppers and onions, and served with both rice and french fries.
And they like their burgers. The Peruvian burger chain is called Bembos. The first Bembos opened in 1988 in the Lima neighborhood of Miraflores. Today, there are 36 of them (according to Wikipedia) across Peru, plus ones in India and Panama. Here in Peru, Bembos is more successful than Burger King and McDonalds combined. They add particular spices to their burgers (plus other fillers it seems), and serve them up with the spicey aji (hot pepper) sauce and mayonnaise that are requisite condiments here. Indeed, McDonalds had a hard time getting established in Peru at first - evidently, because they were not offering the right sauces, nor the right drinks (if there's no bright yellow-colored bubble-gum tasting Inca Cola, forget it).
The Bembos restaurants are bright and feature interesting architecture and art.
Most Peruvians we've asked will tell you that they love Bembos burgers.
We've tried them, and I guess would say that they are okay.
Recently, the English-language Living in Peru website, which is a real treasure trove of information for anglophones, ran a restaurant review for a place called Grill Conquistadores. Britt has had their grilled chicken, which you can order to take out and is very good. But this review raved about the hamburgers. http://www.peruthisweek.com/food-74-Chicken-burgers-and-more-at-Limas-Grill-Conquistadores-201/
Here is the author's description:
It was hands-down, the best hamburger I have eaten since I arrived in Peru almost 5 years ago. When Eduardo Rodrigo, the owner, bragged that it was the best hamburger in Peru, I was skeptical, but it was prepared perfectly. I know that the next time I am craving a hamburger, I will return to Grill Conquistadores 201 for theirs. The hamburger is 300 grams of Certified Angus ground beef from Kansas City which is flown in every 2 weeks from the U.S. It is served without a bun, and while you can request one, there’s no need- the burger is that tasty.
It just so happens that Grill Conquistadores is within pretty easy walking distance from our apartment, and from the movie theater where we recently caught the latest Woody Allen flick. Normally, we would go have dinner in one of the many great Peruvian fusion-style restaurants that about in our neighborhood of San Isidro. But we decided to give the grill a try. And what's more, Valerie, who rarely eats meat, opted for the burger. Maybe it was because she hadn't eaten a hamburger in ages. Or the promise of Kansas City beef, on which she was raised.
Somehow, it didn't measure up to the hype or expectations, though it did measure up to the 300 grams of meat they had promised.
So, at the end of the day, I think when at Grill Conquistadores, we'll stick with the pollo a la brasa, besides it's easier to say than hamburguesa.
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