I was in Copenhagen, Denmark, one day and decided to find an old fashioned butcher shop. Like with many of the old crafts and trades, a master butcher is harder and harder to find. I asked Google Maps to find me a butcher. I found one not too far from where I was staying but far away enough from the touristy part of central Copenhagen.
The shop was called “Slagter Jens” (sort of like being called John Butcher) and in I went. As I stood admiring the orderly rows of cold cuts, meats, and open faced sandwiches, out came the butcher. He was wearing a bowler hat and white lab coat. The hat is a sign of his trade as a butcher. He had been a butcher for forty years.
Outside his shop, I had seen a sign mentioning Finland. I asked him about this. He told me that he sold steak from JN Meats, a Danish beef producer. One of the products are three time award winning steak, “Sashi” from John Sashi Nielsen— and the cattle are raised in Finland. Once they are butchered, the meat is dry aged long enough for the meat to become tender and flavorful.
I bought one slice (I can’t recall exactly but I think it was about 300DKK for 200 grams or $45 for an 7 ounce steak). I had no fridge in my hotel room so I hung it outside my window. A few days later, I had a friend cook it for us. It was utterly divine. Tender, juicy, and tasty like beef.
Apparently, Wagyu beef is not entered into the world steak competition because the fattiness obscures the beefy flavor.
I am not posting a photo of the steak cooked because no photo does it justice. Rest assured, we all wanted more of it.
When entering a restaurant in Lima these days, the waiter will automatically ask if you have a reservation. Even if the restaurant is empty and it’s 5 p.m. So what do you do? How do you get to eat at the places that are a MUST? Like Maido, recently ranked as the number 1 — No. 1 — numero uno restaurant in the world by 
What indeed. What’s the secret? Go at an off-hour. Walk in at 5 p.m. or 6 p.m. and promise to be done by 7 or 8. Maido doesn’t even open for dinner until 7 so try going at 3:30 p.m. at the end of their lunch hours or be at the doors waiting to get in at 12:25, five minutes before they open for lunch (try a Saturday or Sunday when Peruvians would normally eat lunch at 1:30 or later). Or at a place like La Mar, which serves lunch (they are not open for dinner) until 5:30 p.m., try going at 4 p.m. for an early dinner or “linner” as the kitchen is still open until 5:30 p.m. For other places, try going on a Monday or Tuesday night. If it’s a famous breakfast place like 
Or you can plan your visit around the restaurant visit. Make the reservation and plan your visit around it. Perhaps this is the solution for places like Central. It’s possible that you are super well-connected, but for the rest of us, try one of my tips.
Or, go to one of the lesser famous places but with equally delicious food (a chain — horror! — like La Seguende Muelle, or La Preferida) or my secret, Cosme. The current trend in gastronomy is a wee bit too fancy for me, but then I don’t like hype over foam and tiny portions. The exception is Statera. Easy to get in to and the owner worked at Central for two years.
