La Nueva Chomba Picanteria

This guide to La Nueva Chomba Picanteria in Cusco starts with a legend of chicha's accidental invention, corn left soaking in a flooded Inca storehouse under Tupac Yupanqui until it sprouted and fermented on its own. From there it follows the same fermentation into this Cusco corner, where dona Augusta Huaman de Vega opened the picanteria around 1960 and cooked into her nineties before passing the kitchen to her daughter-in-law. You'll hear how picanterias grew out of chicherias, and how Peru's government later folded that history into national heritage. Order the frutillada and you're tasting the thread the whole guide follows.