Andina

Portland $$$$ *****
Andina is an AMAZING Peruvian restaurant in the Pearl District. Unfortunately, it's another one of those restaurants to which I can only come when my (or someone else's) parents are in town because it's quite pricey. But every penny is worth it.
Colorful, loud (every night there is a band that comes in), and packed throughout, Andina is the place to be on a Friday night. We started off with some drinks. I tried the Inca Kola, which I guess is what the Incas drank before they all died out. It tastes almost like ginger ale, but it's sweeter and a prettier yellow color. The rest of my party enjoyed their drinks, including my friend who ordered an arandano, which is a raspberry drink. The bread was also interesting because it was served with three different sauces: a peanut butter and cheese one; a citrus one; and a jalapeño one. I highly recommend mixing the peanut butter and cheese one with the jalapeño one.
Then we had some appetizers. One of them was called "pulpo a la oliva", which is tender octopus slices cupped in fresh endives with Botija olive sauce. ($8.5) The second one was called "a la chalaca", which is sashimi-style fresh fish in an aji Amarillo vinaigrette, served with corn salsa criolla. ($12)
My main course was called "corderito de los andes", a succulent double rack of grass-fed lamb grilled to order, and served with a Peruvian yellow potato and two cheese timbale with a sublime roasted pepper demi-glace. ($27) Delicious! I don't eat lamb often, so this was definitely a treat. It came with two huge pieces of lamb, nicely arranged in a line with alternating slices of roasted potatoes. The cheese timbale gave the perfect kick to the rich meats. The portion was large so I get to eat my leftovers this week. Everyone else loved their meal as much as I did. Other recommended dishes: dorado al rocoto y kion (roasted mahi mahi over a shiitake mushroom, smoked bacon, and bok choy broth, topped with slivers of ginger, rocoto, and scallion basted with smoking sesame oil, served with asparagus-quinoa fried rice); conchas del senor de sipan (quinoa-crusted diver scallops perched on top of wilted spinach and potato-parsnip purée, with golden beet and crabmeat "cannelloni”, and a duet of red beet and passionfruit reductions); and adobo de cerdo (pork tenderloin quickly braised in the Arequipa style, with butternut squash and gorgonzola ravioli, green apple, and a tamarillo-rocoto “uchucuta”).
For dessert, I had "mousse de valle y selva", a tiered semi-freddo of velvety lucuma and espresso mousses, chocolate ganache, and crushed cocoa nib meringue, served with espresso shortbread. Tasted delicious, almost like a tiramisu dish. Another person in my party ordered the plato de crema quemada, which was three pots of crème brûlée, each different flavors: one rosemary, one orange, and none of us could figure out the last one.

All in all, this place is one my new favorite restaurants. It was my first time trying Peruvian food and, I must say, I am quite impressed. I wish I could back more often, but I'll probably have to wait for my parents to visit again (or someone else's parents to treat me).
Andina (Pearl District)

1314 NW Glisan St
Portland, OR 97209
Lunch: Daily 11:30am-2:30pm
Bar/Tapas: Sun-Thu 4pm-11pm; Fri-Sat 4pm-Midnight
Dinner: Sun-Thu 5pm-9:30pm; Fri-Sat 5pm-10:30pm
Happy Hour: Daily 4pm-6pm