La Lucha: The art of the Sandwich in Lima

We are back from the culinary wonderland that is Peru, and what impressed us the most was the obsession Peruvians – especially Limeños – have for quality food, from the corner sandwich shop to the finest dining. So we started our adventure on the humble street corner with one of the many Limeño food obsessions, the sandwich. In Lima the classic sandwich is the chicharrón – fried pork, sweet potato slices and onions on a bun – and sandwich shops serving this variety and many others are on every corner. In our hunt for sandwiches in Lima, one name that kept popping up was La Lucha, a much-hyped sandwich place with locations throughout Lima (we visited one of the locations near Parque Kennedy in the Miraflores neighborhood – Av. Diagonal 308).

La Lucha does a wide variety of “criollo” sandwiches, including the famous chicharrón. Other options included roast chicken, roast turkey (surprising!), roast pork, tuna, jamón Serrano, country ham and steak, cheese and avocado (between 6.8 and 17.3 soles). We ordered a roast chicken, since that is one of our favorite Peruvian staples (and you will see rotisserie chicken places everywhere!) and a classic chicharrón. The La Lucha location we visited was a walk up counter where you placed your order and paid at the counter, and later received your food at your table. La Lucha was packed with hungry students from the nearby university even at the early hour of 5:30 PM (much too early for a Peruvian dinner!), and the vibe was lively and colorful.

Not long after ordering we received crusty rolls piled high with juicy roast chicken and cracking pork and sweet potato. They definitely didn’t skimp on the fillings! Though the sandwiches were delicious, what may have been the real star of the show were the fries made from the celebrated huayro potatoes, which were skin-on, crispy and piping hot. These were some of the best fries we have ever had, which makes sense given that potatoes are originally from the Andes. Plus, the fries came with all manner of dipping sauces (mayo, tartar sauce, olive, aji pepper, etc). La Lucha is also an excellent place to dip your toe into more unique Peruvian fruits including aguaymanto (similar to a ground cherry) and granadilla (similar to passion fruit) through a variety of juices and smoothies. If you are thirsty you can also get chicha, pisco or coffee. But most impressively, none of these sandwiches cost over $5 US! If we lived in Lima we would come here all the time. La Lucha is the perfect place for a quick, delicious meal, and to get a taste of what real Limeños eat on a daily basis. It’ a delicious introduction to Peru!