Stories

Wild West Whiskey in Leadville

by Nico on July 4, 2013 in Stories

Two Guns Distillery, Leadville CO — Wild West Whiskey and Moonshine

Most of my travels revolve around food and cocktails, such as visiting New Orleans to cook a Peruvian pop-up dinner at Carmo Cafe, my annual pilgrimage to the International Food Blogger Conference, which is going to be in Seattle this year, or my upcoming trip to the famous Mistura food festival in Peru. So why would I go to Leadville, Colorado? To train and run in the mountains of the High Country. That’s right, besides cooking Peruvian food and making Pisco cocktails, I love to run, but here, I want to tell you about my visit to the highest distillery in the world — and the whiskey cocktails I enjoyed at Two Guns Distillery.
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La Primera Paella (Paella Dinners at Camino)

by Nico on November 7, 2012 in Stories

It’s not often that while enjoying a meal, I am reminded of the first time I had a dish. With so much trendy fusion and fashionable deconstruction, I find to my dismay that a favorite dish seldom looks and tastes like it does in my memory. So when it does, I take notice, and come back for more. That’s what… Read more →

The Island of Enchantment on Market St.

by Nico on June 15, 2012 in Stories

For many San Franciscans, driving over the Golden Gate Bridge is often followed by hiking in the Marin Headlands or wine tasting in Napa Valley. But it seems that many are also discovering one of my favorite lunchtime destinations and making a special trip to San Rafael just to eat at Sol Food. For the uninitiated, I am talking about… Read more →

Food Stories & Traditions: An Interview with my Mom

by Nico on December 27, 2011 in Stories

Last week, I had the pleasure of interviewing my mom about food stories and traditions during the holidays. And though the interview lasted less than an hour, it covered decades of stories from the Peru of her childhood to present day — stories that made me smile and laugh with a hunger and nostalgia that could only come from our… Read more →

Pisco Sour for Xmas

by Nico on December 20, 2011 in Stories

Inspired by the holiday season, I was recently determined to pair my creativity with Pisco in a little angostura art mixology project. In my mind’s eye, I had a picture of what I wanted to create, all I needed was a few tools. So I made a quick trip to my local art store to pick up an x-acto knife,… Read more →