now the world will know

As a 16 year-old girl watching Jackie live her life according to Cosmo on That 70's Show, I helped out my little sister with those magazine drives by subscribing to CosmoGirl! Over the years I've bounced from one free trial year to another - all some incarnation of that fashion/beauty/shopping blend so prevalent in popular periodicals - but I've never really felt the need to renew.

So I'm so glad that when Hawaiian Airlines prompted me to use my points towards yet another subscription, I chose Condé Nast Traveler instead of another Vogue wannabe. And yes, I have since renewed my subscription!

Just got the July 2011 issue in the mail and had to tear it open right away... this issue has been declared "the Food issue" and Peru has a front cover storyline!

Peruvian produce, from Condé Nast Traveler

Absolutely love the photos, love that I've eaten some of the dishes in the narrative - seen my post on papa huancaína lately? - and love they give a brief but colorful history of the development of Peruvian cuisine. Most importantly, I love that Peru is getting this great culinary and travel exposure because let me tell you, I am sooooo sorry I did not visit Peru sooner than I did. At the rate at which I eat potatoes, I've got to be some sort of Peruvian at heart.

My only critique? Patrick Symmes focused on the seafood of Peru, which is unarguably wonderful. Pollo a la brasa - that favorite meal of families throughout Peru and the absolute best chicken you will ever have - is divine in its own right but was ignored in the main article... it was published that Limon Rotisserie is the SF place to get Peruvian food, including pollo a la brasa... I'm just not sure how you can leave something like that out when there are as many pollerias in Lima as there are Starbucks in Seattle. Maybe this is the gap between the highbrow travel featured in Condé Nast Traveler and the low-to-mid-priced-budget travel upon which I embark.