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| Restaurant Review: El Piloto |
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In the past year I have made a couple of stops to a great little "hole in the wall" in the area of Canete on my way to Lunahuana called El Piloto. On a quick sidenote, Lunahuana is a great little getaway spot especially in the winter months here in Lima. Lunahuana is a 2 1/2 hour drive from Lima located in a warm, dry valley climate which avoids the fog that plagues the coast during winter. The daytime temperatures never drop below 68F degrees. It is also a very popular area for canoeing and rafting due to the river located there. Now....back to El Piloto. The El Piloto in Canete is the original location. It is a family-owned restaurant and has been in business for over 35 years. It is a very popular stop for people also heading south to Paracas and Nazca. El Piloto is known for its Criolla food. When you walk into the restaurant you see a very clean restaurant with a simple, basic decor. You are not there for the view or the decor, you are there for the food! The first time I stepped into El Piloto it was for breakfast. The four of us shared huge platters of chicharron (the very popular fried pork) along with fried sweet potato slices, fresh bread and of course the salsa criolla (sliced onions with aji and lime juice). After spending several days in Lunahuana we decided to stop once again in El Piloto for a late lunch/early dinner on our way back to Lima. To our amazement we entered a very packed restaurant. El Piloto has a great following among Peruvians. At our table we ordered the Chicken Milanese with Frijoles and Rice, two orders of the Chupe de Camarones and Seco de Res. The portions were huge. The flavors were incredible. I personally ordered the Chupe de Camarones (a delectable chowder of prawns from the river located nearby). This is one of their specialties when the prawns (camarones) are in season. Chupe de Camarones is one of my favorite Peruvian dishes and they did justice to this dish. I recently dined at El Piloto's second location the beginning of January. It is situated in the very popular and trendy area of Asia. It is a popular spot for mostly summer vacationers. Since we were there during the New Years holiday we had to wait for a table, but only for 15 minutes. The food and service were fantastic even though the restaurant was packed. The food arriving to all the tables around us was mouth-watering. We dined with our friends, Jerry and Becky, who are very familiar with the food at El Piloto. Becky ordered the Tallarin Saltado, I ordered the Lomo Saltado and the guys ordered the Tacu Tacu with Lomo Saltado. As usual the portions were over-sized. You can easily share any of the plates with 2 people. We ended our meal with frozen limonadas instead of dessert, which were quite refreshing after a big meal. I have yet been able to order a dessert at El Piloto because I never have enough room for more food. Other house specialties include: Chicharron de Calamar (Fried Calamari), Tallarin Saltado con Langostinos (Stir Fried Noodles with vegetables and fresh shrimp), Tacu Tacu con Lomo Saltado (beef tenderloin strips sauteed with onions, tomatoes and aji amarillo with a mixture of rice and beans), Lenguado en Salsa de Camarones (Flounder with a sauce of prawns), Arroz con Mariscos (Rice with different shellfish), Chicken Milanese (breaded cutlet of chicken and it's the biggest chicken milanese I have ever seen served anywhere) and the list could go on and on. The menu is enormous and the variety is perfect. The original El Piloto location is located on the Panamericana Sur Kilometer 138, San Luis, Canete. Their phone number is: 284-4114. They are open Monday thru Sunday and holidays from 7:15 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. The location in Asia is at the Boulevard Sur Plaza in Asia, 100 kilometers south of Lima). Their phone number is: 410-1701. Parking is available at both locations. Their hours are Wednesday thru Monday, 12:30 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. I highly recommend you make El Piloto your next obligatory stop when you are in the areas of Canete or Asia. |
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Av. Angamos Oeste 1155 Miraflores, Lima 18. Tel 222-6359 • Fax 441-4545.
Office Hours: Monday to Friday: From 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM
American and Canadian Association in Peru • acap-peru.org
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