Embossed Picture from La Naranja Pelada
Don Tulio, the owner of La Naranja Pelada, has an interesting taste for decoration; to say the least. Here we have an …
Caimán at La Naranja Pelada
La Naranja Pelada restaurant either falls under the category of tacky or kitsch; you decide! Besides all the specimens on the walls don’t go with us. To have stuffed animals in the brink of extinction like the caimán (cayman) shown above is enough for us to go elsewhere. The reasons I have to show all the recent photos of La Naranaja Pelada have to do with documenting a place with a little fame because of the ceviches they serve there. Seviches are a very important Guatemalan dish and very popular snack/meal around La Antigua Guatemala. I also found La Naranaja Pelada to be very tacky and kitsch. There is still one more shot about La Naranaja Pelada and then we will wave our goodbyes.
Ceviche from La Naranja Pelada
Anyhow, much has been said about ceviches and there are almost as many spellings [seviche, cebiche, sebiche] are there recipes from all the different countries of Latin America. But three ceviches styles are the most widely known: The Mexican, The Peruvian and The Guatemalan Ceviche. All seviches have their own twist and I have to admit that the Guatemalan cebiche with conchas (shellfish with dark, almost black, ink) is the least appealing of all. Yet, for those brave enough to have tried it, the Guatemalan conchas ceviche is a total delicacy. Guy from Inner Diablog has spent enough ink talking about ceviches and since he’s a total connoisseur, I rather you go to his blog and read about ceviches there.
Inside View at La Naranja Pelada Restaurant
Guy’s description of the restaurant fit it to the t: “…wood-panelled and decorated with specimens of local ‘game’ such as snakes, turtles and armadilloes.” La Naranja Pelada restaurant falls into the tacky category of restaurants or bars that have an exotic, underground sort of, appeal for intellectuals and ordinary people alike. Another example of this is the bar El Olvido in Guatemala City. I dislike most of what I saw inside La Naranja Pelada (peeled orange), but especially the animal decoration on the walls and bar. Also the full-size ‘Marlboro Man’ poster is of poor taste in my book. This weekend We rented the film Thank You for Smoking directed by Jason Reitman and there was a chapter about the Marlboro Man who was dying from all the years of smoking. Talk about synchronicity.
In Search of the La Naranja Pelada
The first time I ever heard about La Naranja Pelada (The Peeled Orange) was at Inner Diablog, a blog published from London but filled with hindsight and hard-to-find information about Guatemala. On top of all, Guy writes so eloquently that it is a pleasure to read his entries. Honest, this blog and his writing is an inspiration for me. Check it out!
In the area around Antigua the best ceviches are to be found in a small seafood restaurant on a backstreet of Jocotenango called La Naranja Pelada. The dining room is wood-panelled and decorated with specimens of local ‘game’ such as snakes, turtles and armadilloes. (source: Inner Diablog)