I must admit my ignorance of all things Peruvian; although I am aware of the Mid-Summer Solstice festival at Machhu Pichu called 'Inti Raimi,' and the ever growing interest in Andean shamanism. I also once had a sous-chef from Lima called Victor, a terrible cook with a bad attitude and a sever inclination toward indiscriminate womanizing. Victor's claim to fame was that he had been a long serving member of the Peruvian military and fought the nasty neo-Marxist terrorist group ' Sendero Luminoso' for months at a time in the Amazonion jungle. I took a certain pity on Abimael Guzman when Victor symbolically stabbed me in the back; he was partially responsible for me losing my position as a head chef of a reputable retirement home in Cherry Creek, yes a veritable nasty piece of work!

So what makes Peruvian cuisine eclectic? Well, in the Fourth International Summit of Gastronomy in 2006 Peru was voted as the most culturally diverse country in the world, and Lima as the gastronomic capital of the Americas; this is in whole due to the variety of influences which include the pre-Inca heritage, Spanish, Basque, African, Cantonese/Chinese, Japanese, Italian, French and British contributions to the present day variety of culinary arts and flavors. There are six to seven regional and differences, there is a constant cross-fusion of ideas, styles, presentations and ingredients; everything is in a perpetual process of evolution and synthesis. For example, it has been estimated that there are at least two thousand varieties of soup, four thousand types of potatoes, and staple foods that are virtually unknown here such as; tarwi, kaniwa, quinoa, maca and kiwicha. I all it seems to be a sort of Chefs Paradise in terms of diversity and experimental opportunities.

But I digress, a Peruvian Internet buddy suggested I try her native cuisine and a quick search led me to the restaurant of Chef Alex Guverich; a man who has been around the block several times, having studied classical French cuisine in St. Petersburg in Russia, an MBA at CU Boulder, apprenticeships in Tuscany and Provence, and finished with a degree from the CIA (Culinary Institute of America) in St. Helena. He opened Limon after many trips to South America in 2006 and also owns Café Bisque on Union Boulevard in Lakewood and most recent venture is the Arvada Grill on Olde Wadsworth Boulevard. He is also currently involved in a project called Naked; a macrobiotic restaurant somewhere 'north' of Cherry Creek. Limon is Novo-Andino or Neo-Peruvian, but innovative, complex and refreshing in style and content. Perhaps the only comparison I can think of is Café Brazil on Lowell Boulevard which presents an almost unheard of selection of exotic foods and flavors. Limon's menu offers a glittering array of unpronounceable and mysterious dishes that tempt the palate of any gastronomer.

So I chose Limon for my 43 rd birthday on the solid advice of Jason Sheehan. The menu is divided up into mixturas or appetizers, causa which are traditional potato cakes with a variety of savory fillings, cebiches or speciality fish dishes, and fondos or meat and fish entrée's. Limon has a warm rustic charm with orange and burgundy earth colors, exposed brick walls, wood-plank flooring and subtle lighting; an honest sort of sophistication that we felt could be improved with some contemporary South-American artwork (I particularly like the works of Consuelo Amat y Leon, Enrique Rivas and Wilbert Piscoya!). But who's really concerned with art when you are browsing the drinks list; an amazing collection of mestizo's; classical and innovative cocktails, shimmering like jewels on an expensive evening dress; the pisco sour and mojito contrasted with the tropical chocobanana and mansanatini! Such was the spectacle of amazing ingredients here that it totally blew my mind and I chose a simple wheat-beer; the odel easy street which has a lightly-crisp lemon taste that refreshed and invigorated... bringing me to my senses.

It was a cold, frosty night and I was starving... and found myself dribbling over the menu trying desperately to focus on something. Yet my mind kept wandering through the maze of ingredients, at first I thought I might choose the plantain chips with passion fruit aioli, but then I saw the green lipped mussels, then the chicken kabob, and finally I settled on the solterito; fava bean, beets, and cheese salad which came with two amazingly glutinous and soft potato cakes. A simple combination of sweet, sour and spice which I found both humble and inspiring. My wife got the special entrée; a warm, spicy sweet potato soup which was a delightful and nourishing pillow of comfort from the dark winter winds.

As entrees I plumped for the Seco de Cordero a lamb stew cooked with black beer and cilantro. It came with garlic rice and a salsa criolla (an unusual variant spelling of 'creole' but which denotes a spicy sauce combination). Well, being a smoker and suffering the subtle effects of an impending cold I didn't realize until after a few mouthfuls of the lamb that it was actually burnt, and my dearest partner confirmed my awful suspicion! At this point I have to admit that nothing nauseates me more than this sort of culinary negligence; perhaps an absent chef de cuisine, an ignorant cook or a simply a pot left to look after itself, there is never an excuse great enough to cover such a blunder. True I was later offered a complimentary dessert of caramel ice cream but the damage had been done to my taste buds and everything after the stew had a charred flavor.

Kim chose the Atun con tacu tacu y aguaymanto or #1 ahi tuna with lentils and a gooseberry sauce. This was smooth and invigorating, a really excellent balance of flavors with the suprising addition of a lentil patty (obviously I wasn't aware of what a tacu tacu was!). Perhaps my only complaint was the low sodium content of the meals and lack of any salt or other seasonings on the tables; is this a new trend in the culinary arts or a typical Peruvian 'thang' I'm not sure. Also, we sort of expected some bread with our meal and were given bread plates but nothing appeared of that description; the waiter hadn't a clue what we were talking about and so we came to the conclusion that: 1) Peruvians don't eat bread or salt, or 2) the restaurant management is attempting to reduce costs and not offer those things but slyly communicating this state of affairs as a healthy new trend! So, other than the burned stew the service was attentive and smooth, food was reasonably priced, and the place was rocking by the time we left around 7.45; obviously a popular destination for diners.

But you know what? Something intangible and mystical captured my imagination at Limon... I cant really put my finger on it but it means that I am going back sometime to try it again; I just know its going to get a lot better as it settles and matures!

Limon Eclectic Peruvian Lounge and Restaurant

1618 East 17 th Avenue

Denver CO 80218

303-322-0898

http://www.limondenver.com/index.html