thrillist

Many chefs are inspired by the flavors they recall from childhood, which makes one wonder exactly how old Bourdain was when he started rubbing cocaine on his gums. For stuff that’ll actually make you want to eat, influenced by one chef’s formative Peruvian years, check out Las Primas.

Just-opened Primas is the endeavor of two cousins, one of whom was Lima-bred, and’s now responsible for bringing simple Peruvian street fare to spacious North Williams confines with muraled walls recreated from those in the hidden mountain town of Antioquia, plus bar-tops collaged with South American snack wrappers with names like “Chizitos”, also a favorite of popular cartoon pitchman Chizzter Chizztah. Aiming to undercut PDX's primarily fine-dining Peruvian offerings are deep-fried, queso-filled wonton tequenos w/ creamy avocado dipping sauce, chorizo & queso fresco empanadas, and stir-fried beef (lomo saltado) stacked w/ onion and paired with shoestring potatoes, which’re laced with deliciousness. If Red Dog’s just not exotic enough for you anymore, try their Peruvian purple corn elixir made from whole cobs that’re boiled for hours before being spiced with lime, pineapple, and cinnamon, or grab harder options like a Peruvian Pisco Sour or the Cuba Libre riff Inca Borracho, with rum and South American Inca Cola, even though those dudes were much more into coca.

To make things even more fun than said awesome Incan party drug, Primas's also outfitted with foosball and a traditional game that involves tossing coins at the mouth of a brass frog and screaming at the top of your lungs when you win, although to do so you'll have no reservations...or a lot of cocaine.

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Hit LasPrimasKitchen.com to get all the info on some serious South American grub