Olympic Ceviche with a Political Bite – Pescados Capitales

So delicious, with a kick of yellow ají: ceviche at Pescados Capitales

The hip cevicheria Pescados Capitales, one of Lima’s finest seafood restaurants, plays on the Beijing Summer Olympics theme in its current “Pescados Olímpicos” (Olympic Sins) menu.

(When you remove the first “s” from “pescados,” the Spanish word for fish, it becomes “pecados” or sins. Thus the dual meaning of the restaurant’s name: Capital Fish or Capital Sins.)

Featured dishes this week include “Tiro olímpico” (Olympic Shooting, 30 soles), a causa made of lenguado, tuna and shrimp; “Ciclismo” (Cycling, 31 soles), salmon rolls with perch and brandied vegetables; and “Natación” (lobster “swimming” in risotto, market price).

Those with a reformist bent might try “Antidoping” (37 soles), tuna seared in demi-glace sauce with quail. “Zero tolerance doesn’t seem to work,” the menu comments (whether about diners being able to resist this dish or Olympic athletes refraining from doping, it’s hard to say).

 Restaurant owner Nguyen Chávez creates a special weekly menu based on Peruvian politics and controversies. The introduction to this week’s Olympic Sins menu gives a taste of Chávez’s satiric bite (my translation):

“The Olympic spirit has arrived; let’s see who has already won his medal.

“In Obstacle Race: Peru’s Minister of the Interior (he raffled everything to remain in office)

“In Throwing the Javelin, Hammer, Shot and Discus: Congress (that’s all they do).

“Marathon: This is what the earthquake victims keep running one year after the tragedy [August 15].

“We announce that the president [Alan García] hasn’t scored the minimum marks, according to polls. The race has not ended yet, but the public has been accused unjustly of being ‘unjust.’

” ‘Doping! Doping!’ is heard in the bleachers. Alas, many medals are still up for grabs.”

Aside from looking for an excuse to poke fun at Peruvian politics, Chávez seized on the Olympic theme for this week’s menu because he’s a fan of badminton, a sport that Peruvian athlete Claudia Rivero competed in early in the Beijing Games without making it to the finals.

“Yes, I was sorry to see her lose,” he tells An American in Lima. “And [wrestler] Sixto Barrera, too. They say he was Peru’s best hope for a medal.”

The owner of Pescados Capitales looks forward to seeing Peru’s Peter López compete in taekwondo next Thursday, August 21. “I think he could win a medal. We’ll see.”

Chávez deplores Peru’s lack of support for its Olympic competitors. “The government does nothing for the athletes,” he says. “It’s not just about Peru having little money. Look at Cuba, a really poor country, look at Venezuela: They support their athletes. Why not Peru?”

He notes that Peru also refuses to give monetary support to its own chess superstar, 17-year-old Emilio Córdoba, who recently won the coveted title of International Grandmaster: “Córdoba had to pay his own way to go to the International Championship. It’s not right.”

“Peru needs to stand behind its chess players and it athletes,” says Chávez. “They deserve it, no?”

I nod in agreement and dig into my plate of “Paciencia: Cevíche Ghandi” (30 soles), a heavenly dish of raw fish and seafood marinated in lime juice and curry, with slices of mango and mandarin orange.

It was worth the ½-hour lunchtime wait.

One does need a saint’s patience to put up with Peruvian politics, as well as with “making a cola” for a table at one of Lima’s hottest restaurants.

 Visit Pescados Capitales at Av. La Mar 1337, Miraflores, Lima, Peru.

(511) 421-8808

On the web at www.pescados-capitales.com/

Photo of ceviche by www.thousandflavors.com