I have spent this weekend saying goodbye to one of the two great cities I am lucky to call my home: Madison. This weekend not only provided me with some much needed relaxation and decompression after a few long work weeks and copious preparations for my trip, but I got to try out some authentic Peruvian cuisine at Inka Heritage-- a Madison restaurant not too far from the UW campus.
I ordered Jalea, which according to Inka Heritage's menu is "A delicious mix of lightly breaded seafood which includes Shrimp, Calamari, Crab Legs, Black Mussels, Green Lip Mussels and Tilapia, served with Yucca accompanied with Peruvian Creole Sauces." I don't know how else to describe it other than to say it was amazing and I look forward to all of the fresh seafood I will be eating in Lima.
My friend Emily ordered Escabeche de Pescado, which is another seafood dish. The menu description said: "Lightly friend fish fillets smothered with ahi panca, onions and red peppers accompanied with white rice and garnished with black botija olive and boiled egg." Emily obviously enjoyed this dish because she finished it in about 8 minutes.
Johnnie and Leah each ordered the Simple Tacu Tacu which is a new addition to the Inka Heritage Menu as I can't find a description online. I did a little research and came up with this: tacu tacu is a rice and bean patty that is fried and covered in a marinated onion salsa with cilantro. This tacu tacu was accompanied by fried plantain and a fried egg. The menu offered different variations on this dish and you could order it with chicken, beef or seafood. Both Johnnie and Leah really enjoyed this dish.
No exaggeration, this is one of the greatest restaurants I have ever been to. I have driven by Inka Heritage before and just expected it to be a hole-in-the-wall restaurant but it was much more refined. I recommend stopping by to anyone who is looking for an interesting meal in the Madison area.
Next post will be from Peru!
