“Watch out!” Peter “Pedro” Gonzvar yells while flipping raw beef in a flaming pan. Flames engulf the pink meat and green veggies while the soft crackle of the juices entice the customers.
One by one, Gonzvar meticulously places the entrees among mounds of spices and rice and watches them head out to the dining room of Don Pedro’s Peruvian Bistro.
Gonzvar, 50, opened the bistro on the corner of Sixth Avenue and 44th Street in September 2010 and has been enjoying his little piece of Peru ever since.
“I look at the restaurant as having fun,” Gonzvar says with a grin. “I enjoy when I am there and it is busy. I enjoy it 100 percent.”
The bistro is the product of almost a year of crafty and detailed planning.
“Before I started I had to visualize everything and that’s why it took me so long,” Gonzvar says. “I had to see it in my mind first before I could complete it. It took me a year to plan every single detail from the designing part to the toothpicks.”
Gonzvar is originally from Lima, Peru, and landed in the U.S. in the 1980s.
“I left [Peru] to pursue my career here,” Gonzvar says. “That was what I always wanted since I was in high school: to study in the U.S.”
Since the opening of the restaurant, Gonzvar has not had the chance to visit his home country.
“I miss things in places that I used to visit when I was a child, like the beach and all the museums,” Gonzvar says with a thick Peruvian accent. “I haven’t had time to go back, but I want to so bad.”
After getting a bachelor’s degree from Arizona State University in electrical and computer engineering, Gonzvar pursued his passion for cooking.
“I learned to cook from my mom,” Gonzvar says. “I used to watch her a lot growing up in Peru. Then when I moved here I lived by myself and had to put it in practice, and eventually I started creating my own dishes.”
His menu now consists of traditional Peruvian dishes as well as original creations.
“It is only one of two Peruvian restaurants in all of Tucson,” says Heath Vescovi-Chiordi, PR and marketing manager for Don Pedro’s. “[Peter] takes traditional dishes and has modernized the entire thing to where it speaks to native Peruvians and everyone else.”
A popular dish made by Gonzvar himself is Saltado de Verduras con Pollo, a mix of sautéed vegetables and chicken.
“I am able to say that I made that,” Gonzvar says. “It’s a traditional dish but the flavor is totally different, it’s my own.”
Gonzvar is very particular about his food maintaining the authentic Peruvian taste.
“There are a lot of ingredients in Peruvian food that we don’t see here so we have to import a lot of the products from Peru,” Gonzvar says. “We are able to buy some things locally but it’s not the same quality.”
Gonzvar imports items like the purple corn for the Chicha Morada beverage, a sweet purple Peruvian drink. He imports regular corn as well.
“The corn here is like a baby corn,” says Gonzvar. “Our corn is really big and much sweeter and has more texture. You can’t find that here.”
Although it costs a lot to import products, Gonzvar maintains reasonable prices on all of his menu items with a typical dish at Don Pedro’s costing between $6 and $15.
Now, the trendy bistro provides not only authentic Peruvian dishes, but also a unique Peruvian atmosphere that is still a work in progress.
Soft Spanish music lends an authentic ambiance to the brightly lit restaurant and a sign saying “Yo ? Mi Perú” hangs next to the aroma-filled kitchen.
Resting on the tables are red and yellow bottles, similar to ketchup and mustard bottles, and toasted corn kernels in a tiny white dish.
The toasted corn, Cancha, is a pre-meal snack much like the Mexican chips and salsa. The red bottles hold Chiltepin chili sauce, a savory Peruvian spice, and the yellow bottles hold a creamy yellow dressing of Aji Amarillo spice.
Gonzvar plans to introduce literature on the tables to inform customers about many of of the unique Peruvian items they are experiencing.
“I want them to be able to read and know exactly what they are eating because these things are unique and organic,” Gonzvar says.
As for the restaurant as a whole, Gonzvar plans to expand his business elsewhere in Tucson, like the east side or the University of Arizona/downtown area.
Because it is a family-owned business, Gonzvar enjoys spending time with his wife and children in the restaurant.
“This is giving me the opportunity to be with my family more,” Gonzvar says. “We can be together and I enjoy what I am doing and that’s the point of the restaurant.”
“Watch out!” Peter “Pedro” Gonzvar yells while flipping raw beef in a flaming pan. Flames engulf the pink meat and green veggies while the soft crackle of the juices entice the customers.
One by one, Gonzvar meticulously places the entrees among mounds of spices and rice and watches them head out to the dining room of Don Pedro’s Peruvian Bistro.
Gonzvar, 50, opened the bistro on the corner of Sixth Avenue and 44th Street in September 2010 and has been enjoying his little piece of Peru ever since.
“I look at the restaurant as having fun,” Gonzvar says with a grin. “I enjoy when I am there and it is busy. I enjoy it 100 percent.”
The bistro is the product of almost a year of crafty and detailed planning.
“Before I started I had to visualize everything and that’s why it took me so long,” Gonzvar says. “I had to see it in my mind first before I could complete it. It took me a year to plan every single detail from the designing part to the toothpicks.”
Gonzvar is originally from Lima, Peru, and landed in the U.S. in the 1980s.
“I left [Peru] to pursue my career here,” Gonzvar says. “That was what I always wanted since I was in high school: to study in the U.S.”
Since the opening of the restaurant, Gonzvar has not had the chance to visit his home country.
“I miss things in places that I used to visit when I was a child, like the beach and all the museums,” Gonzvar says with a thick Peruvian accent. “I haven’t had time to go back, but I want to so bad.”
After getting a bachelor’s degree from Arizona State University in electrical and computer engineering, Gonzvar pursued his passion for cooking.
“I learned to cook from my mom,” Gonzvar says. “I used to watch her a lot growing up in Peru. Then when I moved here I lived by myself and had to put it in practice, and eventually I started creating my own dishes.”
His menu now consists of traditional Peruvian dishes as well as original creations.“
It is only one of two Peruvian restaurants in all of Tucson,” says Heath Vescovi-Chiordi, PR and marketing manager for Don Pedro’s. “[Peter] takes traditional dishes and has modernized the entire thing to where it speaks to native Peruvians and everyone else.”
A popular dish made by Gonzvar himself is Saltado de Verduras con Pollo, a mix of sautéed vegetables and chicken.
“I am able to say that I made that,” Gonzvar says. “It’s a traditional dish but the flavor is totally different, it’s my own.”
Gonzvar is very particular about his food maintaining the authentic Peruvian taste.
“There are a lot of ingredients in Peruvian food that we don’t see here so we have to import a lot of the products from Peru,” Gonzvar says. “We are able to buy some things locally but it’s not the same quality.”
Gonzvar imports items like the purple corn for the Chicha Morada beverage, a sweet purple Peruvian drink. He imports regular corn as well.
“The corn here is like a baby corn,” says Gonzvar. “Our corn is really big and much sweeter and has more texture. You can’t find that here.”
Although it costs a lot to import products, Gonzvar maintains reasonable prices on all of his menu items with a typical dish at Don Pedro’s costing between $6 and $15.
Now, the trendy bistro provides not only authentic Peruvian dishes, but also a unique Peruvian atmosphere that is still a work in progress.
Soft Spanish music lends an authentic ambiance to the brightly lit restaurant and a sign saying “Yo ? Mi Perú” hangs next to the aroma-filled kitchen.
Resting on the tables are red and yellow bottles, similar to ketchup and mustard bottles, and toasted corn kernels in a tiny white dish.
The toasted corn, Cancha, is a pre-meal snack much like the Mexican chips and salsa. The red bottles hold Chiltepin chili sauce, a savory Peruvian spice, and the yellow bottles hold a creamy yellow dressing of Aji Amarillo spice.
Gonzvar plans to introduce literature on the tables to inform customers about many of of the unique Peruvian items they are experiencing.
“I want them to be able to read and know exactly what they are eating because these things are unique and organic,” Gonzvar says.
As for the restaurant as a whole, Gonzvar plans to expand his business elsewhere in Tucson, like the east side or the University of Arizona/downtown area.
Because it is a family-owned business, Gonzvar enjoys spending time with his wife and children in the restaurant.
“This is giving me the opportunity to be with my family more,” Gonzvar says. “We can be together and I enjoy what I am doing and that’s the point of the restaurant.”
