Peru has some of the most diverse dishes in South America, and El Rincon de Chabuca (``Chabuca's hangout'') showcases many of them with an emphasis on seafood.

The unassuming place on Collins Avenue near 71st Street in Miami Beach opened 12 years ago. A year later the original owner sold it to Luz Estrella La Torre, a Colombian woman married to a Peruvian. She renamed it after the beloved Peruvian singer and composer Chabuca Granda, famed for her waltz with Afro-Caribbean rhythms in a song about a beautiful Creole woman named ``Cinnamon Flower.''

A year ago La Torre hired her brother-in-law Ernesto Montero to manage the restaurant with his wife Claudia Villegas (her sister). Villegas is the main chef and is assisted by three cooks trained by Peruvian Maritza Paz, who created the new menu.

Montero, a native of Lima, has a master's degree in business administration and consulted for a mining firm there. He was also president of a large social club and opened a restaurant in the building. When he stepped down, the new president refused to renew his contract to operate the restaurant, so he emigrated to Miami in 2001. He met Villegas at Chabuca's as a customer. His daughter Debora from his first marriage now helps out serving.

Papa a la huancaina is a popular appetizer here, with steamed spuds blanketed under a cheese sauce tinted with aji amarillo (yellow chile). Potatoes also come with three-cheese sauce and ocopa -- shrimp and chile sauce with ground peanuts and cottage cheese. Two people can share a platter of sea bass and shellfish ceviches, scallops au gratin, octopus in lavender cream (made with dark purple olives) and mini shrimp causa (potato cakes). There are also deep-fried chunks of fish in a citrus sauce.

Saltados are a cross between a stir-fry and a flambé, with the main protein tossed with onions and tomatoes and served with rice and/or fries. The best known is the lomito, made with strips of beef tenderloin. From Northern Peru comes seco de cordero with chunks of lamb stewed in a flavorful cilantro sauce on a bed of canary beans with rice. Cazuela de mariscos is a slow-cooked seafood stew with basil and a shot of brandy.

After surf or turf, end with homemade lucuma suspiro, custard cream flavored with a fruit pulp that tastes like butterscotch. There is a sprinkle of cinnamon on the side as a tribute to Chabuca, who lives on in the hearts of Peruvians and in this humble place.

Linda Bladholm's latest book is Latin and Caribbean Grocery Stores Demystified.

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