We, most of the group staying in the house at the moment, went out for hamburgers last night. The Canadian group knew of a great hamburger place (they got a tip from one of the instructors at Maximo Nivel) and suggested that we go. They had been before and claimed that the burgers were the best they ever tasted. So we had a field trip for dinner on Thursday night. Since only they knew where “Juanitas” was located we left together around 6:45pm. The good weather was still holding and it was a beautiful night for a walk. As we moved in a pack through the streets, up the steps, down the steps, up the steps, down the steps, I recognized some of the streets but not all of them. I will have to retrace the route during the day and see if I can find the place again. We certainly worked up an appetite with all of the climbing along the way.
The restaurant itself was a small two room affair. Cozy is a good description. The cooking area was about the size of my walk-in closet at home. Two people were behind the counter and I may have imagined it but I think their eyes popped out of their heads when they saw us enter. There was no one in the place until we showed up in our pack of ten. Instantly it was crowded. Luckily for us they were having a special- buy one hamburger get one half price. Perfect since we were an even number. We ordered in pairs, choosing the toppings desired and splitting an order of fries. After ordering we moved to the small room next door and confiscated the large table. This room was very comfortable with a feel more like a lounge than a restaurant.
Most of the group at Juanitas. Three of us are missing here.
Once we all sat down the guy behind the counter, the one who took our orders, came over to inform us they only had four hamburgers. The rest of us would have to change our order. So the six of us who had ordered last chose to try an alpaca burger, the other special of the evening. It was pretty funny since I had noticed that while we were ordering he was counting the orders of fries that were placed and checking on the amount of potatoes he had too. Apparently they had enough fries since we did not have to adjust those orders. Unfortunately for them shortly after we ordered another group of four came in. As we were waiting for our orders to be prepared I noticed that they called in another guy to help.
When the burgers were ready we were called back to the counter to pick the sauce that we wanted on them. They had a really interesting assortment. Besides the normal ketchup, mayo, and mustard were aioli, curry mayo, a herb sauce that turned out to be a mint/cilantro combination, tartar sauce, a picante sauce that turned out to not be very hot, something purple and I have no idea what it was, something that looked like thousand island dressing, a pineapple sauce and something that looked like a barbeque sauce. The aioli was very good, lots of garlic! The burgers were truly something special and the alpaca did not taste too different than beef. One of the girls described it as having a bit of a smokey flavor compared to the regular hamburgers. I noticed that it was very lean.
About the time we were leaving another group of six or so volunteers from Maximo arrived so clearly Juanitas was the place to be on Thursday night. Hopefully they did not want hamburgers…..
Cusco at night (I need to work with my camera to get better pictures of this scene)
The walk home was pleasant and the hills were welcome this time as they provided a means to walk off the heavy, but delicious, meal. The sky was clear and a full moon shone in the sky. The city was clearly outlined on the hills due to the lights of the homes and businesses located up the side of the mountain. The Plaza des Armes, below us, was lit up brightly and looked brilliant against the dark hills in the background. On the way home we passed a plaza where a bunch of young people were practicing what looked like a native dance. We stopped to watch and it was clear that not everyone knew all of the steps yet, but it was fun to watch. We surmised that they were practicing for upcoming festivals. Maybe I will get to see them perform before I leave!