Latest news with #Chinese-Peruvian
Axios
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Axios
What do the pope and this Miami chef have in common? Love for Peru.
If you didn't already believe that eating at Maty's was a religious experience, get this: Chef Valerie Chang Cumpa hails from the same Peruvian town where Pope Leo XIV served as bishop. Catch up quick: The Chinese-Peruvian chef — a member of the award-winning Chang family that ran Itamae together — grew up in Chiclayo, Peru, before moving to Miami at age 10. Pope Leo, a naturalized Peruvian citizen, served as bishop of Chiclayo until 2023. His ascendance to the papacy has brought newfound attention to the Peruvian community there. One restaurant, Las Americas, has a sign outside its door that reads: "The pope ate here." "In Chiclayo, we're very proud of our food," Chang Cumpa tells Axios. What they're saying: Chang Cumpa says she had her first communion in Chiclayo's main cathedral, where Pope Leo has held Mass. Some of her family members have met him before. Chang Cumpa was on her way to work last week as she listened to the newly elected pope's first public address. When the pope switched from Italian to Spanish to send a message to his Peruvian diocese, she was beside herself. "I honestly thought he was going to speak in English. When he said that about Chiclayo, I couldn't believe it. How beautiful. My home town." The big picture: Chang Cumpa, a James Beard Award-winning chef, celebrates her family's roots at Maty's, her Peruvian restaurant in Midtown named after her late grandmother. One of the many family photos that hang on the wall — of her great-grandparents' wedding — is from 1928. "It's beyond the food. It's a love letter to thank my grandma for everything she did," Chang Cumpa said in a recent episode of Toast web series " Signature Dish." State of play: Chang Cumpa tells Axios that Miami's diversity has propelled the 305 into the culinary capital it is today. In her own family, Chang Cumpa says she doesn't take the awards or recognition for granted. Her brother is Michelin-star chef Nando Chang of Itamae Ao, and their father, Fernando "Papa" Chang, heads up B-Side at 1-800-Lucky. "We're still immigrants. We still have that immigrant fight and that desire to do right by our parents, who did a lot of fighting." Zoom in: On the Toast show, Chang Cumpa says the most popular dish at Maty's is the scallop cebiche — a savory seafood dome covered with sliced grapes and topped with cilantro leche de tigre. "Basically every table that comes in to eat orders one of these," Chang Cumpa tells host Sophia Roe. Chef's recs: Here are chef Valerie's favorite Peruvian restaurants in Miami (that are not owned by her family).
Time Out
01-05-2025
- Time Out
This Boston hotel was just named one of the best in the U.S.
Boston has no shortage of historic hotels, but one sleek downtown stay just earned a top spot among the country's best. The Godfrey Hotel Boston landed at number 6 on TripAdvisor's 2025 Travelers' Choice Awards: Best of the Best Hotels in the U.S., a list compiled from millions of reviews and ratings by travelers across the globe. Set in two beautifully restored early-1900s buildings in Downtown Crossing, The Godfrey blends Boston's old-school bones with modern swagger. Think smartphone keyless entry, in-room streaming tech and clean, mid-century-inspired interiors, complete with plush Frette linens and soothing neutrals. Guests rave about the oversized windows (there are more than 50 room types, but natural light is standard across the board) and a location that puts them steps from theaters, shops and some of the city's most buzzed-about restaurants. That includes Ruka, the hotel's signature spot where Japanese-Peruvian Nikkei and Chinese-Peruvian Chifa dishes get a local twist—yes, there's seafood and, yes, it's some of the best in town. But what really sets The Godfrey apart, travelers say, is the service. Staffers here strike a rare balance between New England charm and next-generation hospitality, seamlessly combining the two. It's a major moment for a hotel that has quietly helped anchor the revitalization of Downtown Crossing, a neighborhood once home to Benjamin Franklin and now humming with cocktail bars, boutiques and cultural events.
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Yahoo
This 'secret' East Side restaurant offers an authentic taste of Peru
Highly Recommended is a weekly spotlight on some of food writer Keith Pandolfi's favorite finds as he eats his way across Greater Cincinnati. Come back every Tuesday for more. Inkazteka in Deer Park's Dillonvale Shopping Center is a family-owned restaurant that serves excellent versions of Peruvian and Mexican cuisines, though it's the Peruvian dishes that really shine. Given the importance of potatoes in Peru (they grow more than 4,000 varieties), I suggest starting with the papa a la huancaina ($9.99), a cold appetizer of sliced boiled potatoes drenched in creamy, spicy huancaina sauce, which is a mixture of aji amarillo peppers, queso and evaporated milk. Set on a bed of lettuce and garnished with black olives and hard-boiled egg slices, the dish might look like it's straight out of a 1960s issue of Gourmet magazine, but it's far more timeless than that. One of the most classic examples of Peruvian cuisine is lomo saltado, a stir fry of beef or chicken, red onions (cut into wedges) and tomatoes sauteed in soy sauce and wine vinegar and served with french fries and rice. According to my former co-worker Daniel Gritzer at Serious Eats, lomo saltado is an example of chifa cooking, "a term that describes the Chinese-Peruvian hybrid cuisine created by Chinese immigrants who moved to South America more than a century ago." Here, the indigenous American ingredients of potatoes, peppers and tomatoes are seasoned with soy sauce and then stir-fried. Instead of ordering my lomo saltado the traditional way, I enjoyed it in the form of the Burrito Inkazteka ($16.99). Here, lomo saltado (complete with the french fries and jasmine rice) is stuffed and rolled into a flour tortilla and served on a festive yellow platter. The enormous burrito is burnished with shimmering chipotle sauce that adds a layer of smoky flavor. If you'd like a little more spice with your meal, ask for a side of the restaurant's green hot sauce – which should satisfy even the most ardent heat freak – then wash it all down with a refreshing pineapple soda. My guess is that you'll be revisiting this shopping center secret sooner than later. 3920 E. Galbraith Road, inside the Dillonvale Shopping Center, Deer Park; 513-921-5663. This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Looking for authentic Peruvian food? Head to this Deer Park restaurant
