Pure Peruvian Doughnuts: Puro Sabor

The great Thi Nguyen recently did a fabulous write-up of LA Peruvian spots in the LA Times. Thi is an old time Chowhounder who was the editor of the Los Angeles edition of Chownews back in its heyday, and I won't try to redo his good work.

Everything he says about Puro Sabor, the traditional Peruvian spot in Van Nuys is true. On a recent visit, we loved most everything, including the various ceviches, the chicken fried rice (arroz chaufa) and the tender, stewed beef dish seco de carne. But the greatest dish of the evening was something that didn't appear in Thi's review, though Thi says it was in the original draft.

Picarones are pumpkin doughnuts served in syrup. As a doughnut fiend, it's hard for me to describe how excited I was when these heavenly rings appeared. Served fresh out of the frier, the doughnuts come piping hot and perfectly crisp. They have an eggy composition that makes them light and fluffy; imagine a twice-fried French cruller served hot and you may begin to understand the transcendent quality of these picarones. I didn't get too much pumpkin flavor from them. They are served in a palm sugar syrup infused with spices; I detected cloves and maybe some cinnamon. And be warned, you may find yourself not only spooning the syrup over the doughnuts, but spooning it directly into your mouth.

Doughnuts, of late, have migrated from diners and doughnut stands to the dessert menus of many high-end restaurants. I've had them at Grace, Craft, Mozza and Little Dom's. The picarones at Puro Sabor, however, were far and above the best restaurant doughnuts I've ever tasted. The doughnut dish, alone, is worth going back for.



Puro Sabor
6366 Van Nuys Blvd.,
Los Angeles, CA 91401
(818) 908-0818

Let's Float Down to Peru: Balcones de Peru

For a city with a comparatively small Peruvian population, LA is awash in great Peruvian restaurants...the wood fired chicken of Pollo a la Brasa, the garlicky shrimp and pasta of Mario's Peruvian Seafood, the rich saltados of Don Felix and Pollo Inka, and the list goes on and on.

My favorite, though, for LA Peruvian is Los Balcones de Peru (The Balconies of Peru). Located on Vine south of Sunset, Los Balcones offers a somewhat more refined, more sophisticated cuisine than the rest of LA's Peruvian spots.

This is one of those places where everything I've ordered has been great, but these are some of my favorites. Camarones a la piedra is a ceviche of cooked shrimp with hominy and a delicate yellow sauce which you will dab your bread in until it's gone. Tacu-Tacu Con Lomito Al Jugo is a perfectly cooked skirt steak (a la carne asada) with tacu-tacu, a sort of course rice and bean paste. Saltados, those Peruvian stir fries of meat, veggies and french fries, are also good. One of my favorite things is the red onion garnish that comes on several of the dishes including the ceviche. It's a simple salad of thinly sliced red onion marinated in a vinegar dressing...I could eat it all day.

Balcones has a prime location, and it's a convenient spot before or after catching a film at the Arclight, buying some gaviotas at the Sunday Hollywood farmers' market, picking up some music at Amoeba or searching for a rare single malt or Bourbon at K&L. Check it out!

Los Balcones de Peru
1360 Vine St (south of Sunset)
Los Angeles, CA 90028
323-871-9600