What to Order at Causa/Amazonia
America’s first Amazonian restaurant has an intimidating yet enticing menu…
Causa/Amazonia (920 Blagden Alley NW) opened in May of 2022 to wild fanfare. Carlos Delgado, chef and co-owner, received tons of praise for his innovative restaurant, which seeks to showcase the flavors of each region of Peru. To do this, he reimagines dishes that are typically sold as street food using only the highest quality ingredients, creating a veritable food tour of the country that you can experience from your seat. What’s particularly exciting about this is that Amazonia is the first Amazonian restaurant to hit America — you can’t get these dishes anywhere else in the country. The hype about Causa/Amazonia hasn’t died down since their opening; in fact, Eater recently named the restaurant one of 15 best new restaurants in all of America.
Here’s what you need to know before you go: this place is called Causa/Amazonia because it’s actually two restaurants in one. The bottom floor is Causa, an intimate prix-fixe Peruvian gem offering a six-course tasting menu. The top floor is Causa’s more casual counterpart Bar Amazonia; there, you can order a la carte dishes and take advantage of the impressive selection of pisco at the bar.
For our appetizers, we decided to share several smaller plates. We ordered salmon belly and shrimp skewers, scallops al parmesan, the ensalada de chonta, and the cebiche clásico. Our salad was particularly alluring — beneath a roof of plantain chips lives chopped avocado, thinly-sliced hearts of palm, tomatoes, and passionfruit. The citrus taste combined with the crunch of the plantain chips made it addictive — I had a hard time passing the plate on.
The cebiche clásico is dressed with lime and served surrounded by several traditional Amazonian ingredients, including sweet potato chunks, plantains, and two different types of corn: cancha, which is served toasted, and choclo, which is distinguishable by its pale white color and the fact that it’s MASSIVE. This dish feels like a can’t-miss: it is such a beautiful introduction to Amazonian cuisine, and you can read Delgado’s mission statement all over it.
For our main course, we ordered the pulpo al Josper, and the patarashka, a curried fish dish made with whichever fish is freshest — on the night we visited, it was grouper. For me, the pulpo al Josper was the standout dish of the night. It arrived to the table looking like a heap of mush; perhaps tipped off by past eaters who looked crestfallen at this dish’s arrival, the server assured us that there would in fact be octopus inside. When we dug in, we discovered that what seems at first glance like mush is actually a mixture of quinoa and mashed yukon potato. Underneath this blanket of fluffy goodness lurks the octopus, which is cooked to the point of perfect tenderness. This dish gets its kick from ají panca, a Peruvian variety of red pepper, and there are notes of citrusy, minty flavor coming from an herb called huacatay. I hope to never forget the feeling of this dish on my tongue — both smooth and textured, with pops of intense flavor.
Despite being stuffed beyond belief, I knew that this restaurant would have something really special for dessert, so I plucked up my courage at the end of the meal, unbuttoned my pants, and ordered the Selva Negra. This dish consists of a black forest cake encased in a chocolate mousse with cherry flavoring, all in the shape of a cacao bean. Served on the side is a scoop of cherry ice cream, chocolate crumbs, and a piece of brittle. Our server told us that Selva Negra was Delgado’s favorite dessert growing up, so he made it a requirement for the menu at his first restaurant. And thank God he did! This was the most visually stunning dish of the night, and it was also a knockout — the cherry and the chocolate melt together, rich, delicate, and never too sweet to keep going.
Delgado’s vision is perfectly delivered upon at Causa/Amazonia: each dish was a dazzling lesson in color, taste, and Amazonian cuisine. I hope to be back soon, and to experience the other side of the restaurant. Yet regardless of whether you choose to visit Causa or Amazonia, I recommend you snag a table soon for your own personal tour of Peru.
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