Peruvian Pick: El Picaflor

To go along with this week's French Tease and Outbound Train, I just had to seek out a Peruvian restaurant in Paris, which was not difficult to do. On the left bank, near the Jardin des Plantes, lies El Picaflor.

El Picaflor (Spanish for "the hummingbird") is a small, cozy restaurant with warm, natural lighting. Its off-white wood-paneled and exposed stone walls are currently covered in local Parisian artwork, as well as various other more specifically Peruvian items, including a retablo - a traditional religious wood carving. It's a nice blend of upscale left bank boutique eating and a homey, comfortable setting.

Ordering à la carte might set you back a bit, but the lunch menu, which is a starter and a main course, is very reasonable at 9 euros. They also have a similar kid's menu for 8 euros. There are more expensive menus, as well, ranging from 19 to 39 euros, and of course they serve Peru's national dish, ceviche.

For lunch, I opted for a Peruvian tamal. I normally think of tamales as being uniquely Mexican and Guatemalan, but I now know that Peru has them as well. In Guatemala, tamales are made by wrapping the ground corn hominy and meal with chicken or pork in a corn husk. In Lima, Peru's capital city, tamales are much larger, spicier and wrapped in banana leaves instead of corn husks. Also, the chicken inside the yellow corn hominy was accompanied with a hard-boiled egg, chili and black olives. Truly a complete meal. The tamales at El Picaflor are quite faithful to the tamales unique to Lima.

You can also treat yourself to a pitcher of chicha, a special Peruvian drink historically made with corn and, believe it or not, the saliva of the women who prepared it. This homemade drink was first made by Incan women who would chew a certain type of corn in their mouths and then spit it out. Their saliva would mix with the corn, thereby fermenting into an alcoholic drink. El Picaflor serves chicha morada, the non-alcoholic version that includes pineapple, cinnamon, cloves and sugar-and quite possibly includes no spit whatsoever.

In modern Peru, corn is boiled in water for several hours to make the chicha; saliva is apparently no longer used. If you ever visit Peru, then on your way to Machu Picchu, look out for houses flying a red flag out in front, which means they make and sell their own chicha.

At El Picaflor, add to your Peruvian tamal an authentic and uniquely Peruvian chicha morada and you've got yourself a nice little Peruvian experience here in Paris.