Peruvian Restaurant Culture in Cuzco

I love food, so Campus Dining at Vanderbilt usually doesn't cut it. Because of this, I feel like I've frequented more restaurants in Nashville than many other people from Vanderbilt and am therefore exposed to U.S. restaurant culture at least a few times a week—if not more, depending on how Campus Dining is looking that week.

Because of this, I was especially excited to try all of the food that Peru had to offer, as I'd never really tried Peruvian food before and have rarely eaten in restaurant settings when I've been out of the country previously. I knew that many other countries had very different restaurant cultures than the United States—what I didn't know is just how different they would be. So, let's talk about some of the biggest differences I've noticed while dining out in Peru:

- No free water (usually): This was one that I was expecting as I'd heard about it before, but I didn't realize how dependent I was on the free water in the U.S. until I didn't have it. I always try to make sure that I'm keeping a 1:1 ratio with water and whatever else I may be drinking, and I've found that not having water on the table has caused me to be a lot more dehydrated here because I don't have that water on the table encouraging me to hydrate myself. A few exceptions: the Hanz Craft Beer Restaurant offered complimentary water; however, this water was served without ice, something else that I'm very used to; La Feria did not have complimentary water but they did bring big chunks of ice upon request. Of course, water is available everywhere for purchase, which makes sense given that a lot of places in the U.S. use tap water for their complimentary water and tap water shouldn't be given to drink to Peruvian tourists, but nevertheless, I am looking forward to going back to the U.S. and hydrating myself with unlimited free water at restaurants.

- No constant pestering: Something that bothers me a bit in the U.S.—although it's considered "good service"—is when servers come up to you every few minutes once you've gotten your food and you must tell them that the food is "tasting great"—usually with your mouth full. I wouldn't mind if this happened once, but it happens every few minutes. Again, it makes since when you take into account my next point (differential dependence on tips), but it's been pretty nice to eat my food in peace without having to time my next mouthful depending on whether I think the server is approaching the table to ask if I like the food.

- Tipping culture: This is another one that I'd heard about before coming to Peru, but I've definitely still had some cognitive dissonance with this one because since I've worked in food service in the U.S., I'm always inclined to tip usually at least 20% there, no matter where I am. I've heard that the reason that this is different between the U.S. and other countries is that servers in other countries actually make decent wages rather than below minimum wage. I wonder how service in the U.S. would change if something like this was implemented—somehow, I think it would make the style of service less compatible with the U.S. overly friendly and polite culture, which is interesting.

- Spending more time at the restaurant: In the U.S., I can get in and out of a restaurant within 30 minutes depending on how busy it is and how much of a rush I'm in—even the busiest ones on 12 South. This is because as soon as the server sees you putting the last bite of food in your mouth, they immediately bring the check—kind of expecting you to pay even though they politely tell you that there's "no rush." In essentially all of the places that we've been in Cuzco, there really has been no rush—from coffee places to upscale restaurants, the servers only bring the checks when they are asked for them. Despite the fact that this has made me antsy at times when I want to get out and start working on something quickly, at other times it's been nice to sit in the nice ambiance of a restaurant or coffee shop, wait for the food to digest, and have more time to talk to the people around me without my mouth full. Overall, this has been one of my favorite parts of the restaurant culture here in Cuzco.

- No splitting checks: With the exception of La Feria, no other place has split checks for us, which has often created issues because nobody ever seems to have small Peruvian bills or exact change. It's nice in the sense that it's really been improving my sub-par math skills and creates more of a sense of community as everybody exchanges bills, trying to figure out how to pay 20 soles with a 50 soles bill. Nevertheless, the return of split checks is probably one of the things I'm looking forward to most when I get back to the U.S.—maybe it's because I'm really lazy when it comes to math, but I really do enjoy just being able to set down my credit card for a bill that's intended only for me and not having to worry about any other logistics.

Overall, I've loved my experiences at restaurants in Cuzco and observing these small differences—many of them directly caused by interesting cultural differences. In many ways, some of these differences—such as more time at the restaurant and less pestering by the server—have made me feel a lot more comfortable at restaurants because they're a lot closer to experiences that I've had at Russian restaurants at home. So, even though I'm almost 4,000 miles away from Chicago and the Russian community there, I'm feeling a lot closer to home and my roots in some ways than I've felt in Nashville in a long time.