Hello and welcome to Food Neighbourhoods on Monocle Radio.
I'm Monica Lillis and once again we're visiting the places locals love for their food and drink.
This week we head to the ancient city of Cusco in southeastern Peru to wander its cobblestone streets and taste both its traditional delicacies and contemporary cuisine.
Here, Monaco's Elna Schutz takes us on a tour.
The vibrant old city of Cusco sits at a towering altitude, making it a popular stepping stone for visitors to Machu Picchu to acclimatize.
While wandering the streets buying handcraft or taking a photo with an alpaca is fun, locals know that the real gem is the cuisine.
Let's start in Cusco's main square and the city's central meeting place for centuries, the Plaza de Armas.
The square is surrounded on all sides with the typical Kuskin architecture of colonial Spanish wooden balconies over sturdy Incan stone walls.
The facades make this area look so beautiful that you wouldn't expect for there to be any big name brands like McDonald's or Starbucks hiding behind some of them.
But they are.
Of course, there.
Just their logos are subtly adjusted to blend into the look.
But that's fortunately not where we'll be stopping today.
Walk along the colonnades and you'll likely be approached by someone trying to coax you in with a menu.
Many of them will have traditional offerings, but I recommend heading into Morena Peruvian Kitchen.
If you're brave, try the Cuy, a whole guinea pig marinated in traditional herbs and usually served with colorful native potatoes.
For something still iconically Peruvian but slightly easier to face, that is Without a face, pop into the aptly called Ceviche for the zesty cubes of fresh or raw fish marinated in lime juice.
You'll want to pair that with a Pisco Sour, the Go to Peruvian cocktail with lots of lime and some fluffy egg white on top.
If you look closely at the streets radiating off the square and your Spanish is up to scratch, you'll notice Portale de Pan, Portal de Can, Portal Confituras, Bread, Meat Suites.
The streets still hold the names of the foods and goods that were likely brought to the square or the area to sell.