SoCal said:I'm somewhat more familiar with it's next door neighbor, Brazil, however, I just don't find the Peruvian food as distinctive as, say, Brazil's. Imo, it lacked the indigenous food Brazil has - at least, at the restaurant. Meanwhile, not really doing any one dish better than the country it came from. An exception may be the Chaufa -- that looked like it could be good, maybe better than the original but I only looked at it. Generally, if I wanted German food, I'd go get (or make) German food. If I wanted Italian, I'd go get (or make) Italian, etc. I'm familiar with both of those categories and this was not like above & beyond. For example, in my experience, the Portugese Brazilian food is more authentic than the Peruvian equivalent. It was interesting but I can't say it was great or, like I said, distinctive / particularly outstanding.
Most places that do Peruvian down here are mediocre at best. I usually will go for the "aji de gallina" or the "lomo saltado" which can only be screwed up so much. Chaufa de pollo or milanesa de pollo (aka the schnitzel - as you call it) is what I get for the kids. Peruvian food truly shines when it comes to seafood, but it needs to be well prepared and so far I haven't found a place that does it well down here.
Judging Peruvian food based off going to Inka Mama would be like judging Italian food after only having gone to the Olive Garden.