La Canela: The Finer Points of Peru

For much of my life, I have heard that Asian cuisines was the best in the world.  And yes, I still believe that.  But I have also wondered about where else would there be good food.  How about South America?  How about Peru?  It would seem to make sense.  It has the Pacific, the Andes, and the Amazon, so there's got to be some interesting food.  I certainly thought there was after watching an episode about Peru on Anthony Bourdain's CNN show Parts Unknown.  I was impressed by what I saw that I immediately started looking for Peruvian restaurants near my hometown.  I was fortunate to find one in a place that I least expected: La Canela in Rockville Town Square.  Now I was surprised as I am not fond of any restaurant in that part of town as they mostly consist of standard American fare and chains.  But this restaurant is tucked away from the hustle and bustle, which makes for an intimate setting.   

As I approach the restaurant, I am already impressed with the old Spanish colonial architecture of the exterior and interior.  It gives an aura of authenticity and makes a very unique ambiance.  As my family and I looked through the menu, we were amazed by the diversity of dishes that were offered, especially the appetizers and entrees.

For this meal, it was an absolute gorge-fest.  We went the whole nine yards with appetizers, entrees, and desserts.  Yes, there were multiple desserts involved.

We start with 2 appetizers.  First, a tiradito of flounder with aji amarillo, lime juice, garnished with lima beans, potato, sweet potato, and roasted corn.  Think of this as Peruvian sashimi.  The flounder was very fresh and went well with the aji sauce, which is made from the aji chile.  Contrary to what you might think, it isn't very spicy.  What is spicy, for some strange reason, was the potato.

The second appetizer was calamari with yuca logs, sarza criolla, and Peruvian tartar sauce.  The squid was ultra fresh, perfectly fried, and went very well with the tartar sauce.  This is the best calamari I have ever had.  The yuca, or cassava, was also very good.  Since it's a root vegetable, it's like eating potato fries.  But yuca is more denser and has a sweeter starchy flavor. Once you have had this stuff, you will never go back to those greasy french fries ever again.  The sarza criolla is a South American salsa.  There are a variety of ways to make it but this version has onions, tomatoes, and cilantro.  This was also served some of the main courses as you will see.

Now it's time for the main course.  Even though each member of my family had separate entrees, we always share every plate with each other.  Each dish was very exciting and filling.  Even though this restaurant is a little more upscale, they don't skimp on the portions.  

My dad got the arroz con mariscos (rice with seafood), which is pretty much like Spanish paella.  It is filled with a colorful array of seafood on spiced rice.  Fresh seafood on top of flavorful rice, what could be better?

My mom ordered the asado de tira or boneless short ribs braised in a cilantro based dark beer sauce, served with lots of pureed canary beans and jasmine rice on the side.  This was the heaviest of the entrees.  The short ribs were absolutely fork tender and moist.  The beans were really good especially when eaten with the rice.

My sister ordered the fettuccini al pesto served with a breaded sirloin steak and huancaina aji oil.  Now you might be thinking why would anyone order a pasta dish at a Peruvian restaurant?  But let me tell you, this pasta is shockingly good.  It is cooked al dente style, meaning it's has a slight chewiness and no mush.  And who doesn't like steak?  Biggest surprise of the night for sure.

Finally, I got the arroz con pato (rice with duck).  The rice is scented with cilantro and beer, huancaina aji oil, and sarza criolla.  The duck leg is extra crispy and boasts a lot of flavor.  The skin was the best part.  As I bite into it, the fat underneath it melts in your mouth.  The rice was a completely new experience for me.  The beer and cilantro infusion made the rice very aromatic.  

Now on to the desserts.  At a first glance at the menu, we weren't sure of what to get, so we asked a waitress for recommendations.  She recommended us the panna cotta de lucuma, torta tres leches, and the creme brûlée de quinoa.  So we picked all of them.

The panna cotta is served with chocolate ganache, almond crunch, and pisco drunk raisins.  This was the best tasting desserts we had.  It was our first time trying lucuma, which is a fruit only found in the Andes mountains.  The dessert was very nutty, chocolatey, and had a hint of caramel from the fruit.

The tres leches cake is served with raspberries and whipped cream.  It is a sponge cake dipped in 3 kinds of milk, hence the name: evaporated milk, condensed milk, and heavy cream.  The cake itself was good, but I felt the sauce on top of it sort of masked the flavor of the actual cake itself.  This was also one of the most highly regarded desserts too, but I felt somewhat underwhelmed for some reason.  Maybe I was just too full at this point.

I have had creme brûlée many times before and will keep on having it many times again.  But this version of creme brûlée is the most bizarre and unique one I have ever tried.  When most people have creme brûlée, they like it for the crusty sugar coating on top covering a smooth, creamy vanilla custard.  But now imagine it with cinnamon and quinoa infusion.  Wow, whoever knew that would work.  The quinoa adds a healthy touch to an otherwise rich and fatty dessert as well as a new texture to the custard.




Wow, I had a lot of enjoyment eating and writing about this meal and I hope you enjoyed reading this.  This place is truly a gem in an otherwise substandard and stuffy, albeit charming, town center.  There is really nothing quite like it.  I'm really glad I discovered this hidden gem and shared it with my family, especially in an area saturated with Asian restaurants, and I think it will be the next big culinary trend along with the rest of South America.  When I go back (and why wouldn't I?), I plan on trying some ceviche.

La Canela
141 Gibbs St
Rockville, MD 20850