CAUSA Amazonia DC

The District

Mains $26 to $38 at Amazonia and $125 for six-course chef’s tasting menu at Causa.

Carlos Delgado says he wanted to “build a new way of Peruvian eating,” and that’s exactly what he’s accomplished with two restaurants under one roof in Blagden Alley, Amazonia and Causa. The former is a rakish bar and dining room with a jungle of an outdoor terrace on the rooftop and snacks including skewers. The latter — off the entrance and opening with a pristine display of fish — showcases a six-course tasting menu that your guide introduces as if it were a trip: “We’re going to touch on coastal cooking, then the Andes, and finish in the Amazon.”

Here’s what I love about the bar: pretty much everything? Drinks are not just balanced, they’re beautiful. The pisco-spirited Anticuchería, hinting of smoke and fruit, shows up in a terra-cotta vessel with spiced pineapple and a banana leaf. The kitchen gives fresh meaning to “bar food.” Skewered salmon belly melts on the tongue; a morsel of garlicky plantain topped with pork tallow becomes irresistible nigiri; and hearts of palm and creamy avocado make for a fetching salad when they’re carpeted with fried plantain coins. Throw in smart service and plush seating and you get a line outside before the door opens.

[Amazonia and Causa: Two delicious tastes of Peru under one roof]

Here’s what I love about the fine dining: Once a parade of exquisite small bites are cleared at Causa, Delgado makes it his mission to spend as much time as possible with his audience. Here he is, adding liquid nitrogen to yellowtail and sweet potato, a sparkling ceviche (and a reminder he once worked for José Andrés). Another course, Delgado explains the ancient practice of cooking layers of food underground over hot stones — pachamanca — as we slice into succulent Wagyu beef short ribs lapped with a reduction of black mint, beef stock and soy sauce and served with a modern whip of cauliflower. The list of piscos seems endless, like the varieties of potatoes in Peru, and you have to admire priorities like the newly acquired $15,000 dryer — just for aging fish.

Supplements can send your bill skyward, but even the base dinner here is as much a master class in Peruvian history and geography as celebration of one of the world’s finest pantries.

Here’s why you should book a trip to either attraction: Nobody in this country is cooking Peruvian at this level, with as much dedication and craftsmanship, as Delgado.

Dreams do come true at Amazonia and Causa — his and diners’.

920 Blagden Alley NW.

202-780-8607.

causadc.com.

Amazonia: Dinner Tuesday through Sunday. Indoor and outdoor seating. Causa: Dinner Thursday through Saturday. Indoor seating.