El Pollo Inka - Torrance

I know, I know, it's a chain. But it's a Socal chain and I love their lomo! It's Peruvian stir fry, and what's not to like? A fusion of Peruvian potato with veggies and fried Chinese-style, it's my people's cultural contribution on a plate, a melting pot in a wok. 

My favorite is the Saltado de Camarones, though the fish is quite good as well. The fish is more fishy so make sure you like that, otherwise stick with the shrimp if you want some seafood. They're not stingy with the shrimp, which are pretty tender and fresh. The red onions are sauteed sweet but still have some crunch and bite. Tomatoes are tangy, peppers are crisp, and I love that they throw in the french friess. 

Lomo Saltado is the standard, and they do a good job cooking the meat through without making it tough. Throw on some green sauce no matter what you're eating. It'll add a little singe, but it'll make your stir fry sing. 

Wow, the Pollo a la Brasa! Tender, juicy oven-roasted masterpiece of a chicken. Get all dark meat if you can - it compounds the flavor and seals in the savor. I rarely order chicken, and it's hard to do a roasted chicken well, but El Pollo Inka has earned their name. 

A side of Platanos because I just have to. They do a decent job on these, though I prefer them more gooey and theirs is the firm and starchy approach. 

The Ceviche Mixto will make you cry. SO much lime juice, too much. The fish, shrimp, and calamari are fine, but there's just so much acid they burn your mouth, and it actually takes a moment to recover your sense of taste. 

I'm curious about a few other items, and I may have to try the beef heart next time the craving hits. I would probably avoid the other apps after my misstep with the ceviche, but I won't stay away from the lomo for long. 

Best Beef in the World – Argentina

If you have a beef with steak, I suggest you let it rest…on an Argentine grill. Because that’s exactly what I did and it worked just find for me…until I realized I would be spending the following month on a beach in St. Thomas. Shut up, I do NOT have a food baby...

Swimsuit shame aside, my rather anti-climactic introduction to Argentine steak started in Ushuaia. Maria Lola’s Lomo with raspberry red wine glaze turned out to be pretty lame-o. Lomo may be one of the most prized cuts, but lean is mean especially when it’s bland and slightly overdone, and the fruity sauce tasted a little too much like it put the J in PB&J.

The lomo was laughable, but a beef buff doesn’t throw in the napkin after one mediocre meat. Then a brief longing for Patagonian lamb led to a long ache for steak, which Rio Alba only enriched. A classic steakhouse, complete with elderly waiter who was clearly the strong, silent type, I rallied to an unsurprisingly amazing and fabulously flavorful Bife de Chorizo. Unfortunately, this one was cooked a little too close to medium but by no fault of theirs. I tried saying rojo, but word from the wise…aka the idiot who didn’t look up how to say rare in Spanish before going to a nice steakhouse…look up how to say rare in Spanish before you go to a nice steakhouse.

Rio Alba had a strong showing, but after two weeks of seeing almost no English-speaking tourists, I started to wonder where the gringos go. The answer is clearly La Cabrera where you get the Argentine steak with all the comfort of Ruth’s Chris. The wait staff speaks fluent English, and everything is as polished-as-can-be, down to the free flutes of champagne while you wait. There’s no better way to make an Asian glow…with happiness you racist. And what better occasion for this celebratory beverage than the wait for a flawless Ojo de Bife (ribeye)?

The best part is, La Cabrera’s steak comes with all the fixin’s. Far as I could see, that wasn’t typical when you order grilled meat in Argentina. Not only does your whopping 400 grams (0.88 pounds) of ribeye come with a complimentary salad, complete no less than 10 little crock-lets of optional add-ons, the sides are pretty swell. The sweet potato is sweet, the mashed potatoes creamy, and who can object to precious pearl onions in red wine?

They say when life gives you lemons, make lemonade. I say when life gives you a beef, make steak. If I ever had a beef, I’d want La Cabrera to make my steak. And if I have no beef with you, I won’t have a cow if you want to sit down and share.