My culinary adventuring in Peru earlier this month went far beyond guinea pigs.

When I learned that we would have an evening free in Lima at the end of our week spent exploring Machu Picchu, Ollantaytambo, Sacsayhuaman, and other awe-inspiring sites, I was determined that I wouldn’t permit exhaustion to cause us to fall back on room service or a hotel restaurant. I wanted more than a meal. I wanted magic. And after a bit of research, I decided the best place to ingest that magic was at Astrid y Gaston, voted one of the 50 best restaurants in the world. I sent emails to our Lima hotel, hoping that the concierge would have luck snagging us a table, but by the time our trip began, I’d heard nothing back. So I started to worry.

And then, as I boarded our American Airlines flight in Miami, I saw the name of the chef, Gastón Acurio, on the cover of the inflight magazine, and a lengthy article inside touting the wonders of his kitchen. And I worried some more.

Because though I couldn’t understand Spanish, I did understand that such a piece might increase the already high demand for tables at Astrid y Gaston. So the first thing I did when I saw our tour operator after landing was to ask if he could help get us a reservation later that week. He did, and so on Friday night, we cabbed over, along with a few friends we’d made on the trip, to the restaurant one food critic called, “my favorite restaurant in Peru.”

When we arrived a few minutes before the 7:00 p.m. opening, the door was locked, the shutters were closed, and except for the small sign on an exterior wall, we had no way of knowing we were in the right place. But exactly at 7:00, the door was flung open, and we were warmly welcomed and shown to our table near the kitchen.

As we studied the whimsical menu—the Peking guinea pig was described as “Tired of being rejected by the world, the guinea pig decides to disguise itself as a Peking duck, dressed with rocoto and purple corn crepe. It got a standing ovation from everyone.”—we were presented with an amuse bouche of mango cebiche and delicate fish puffs the ingredients of which my palate isn’t educated enough to even begin to describe. Luckily, the restaurant kindly sent me a copy of its English-language menu, so I can accurately share the rest of what I ate.

For my appetizer, I chose—

Pulpo atrapado en un cilindro ardiendo (octopus trapped in a smoker cylinder on fire) The smoke disguised the octopus as an anticucho skewered meat. Some botija black olive bubbles extinguished its fire. We give you a little Peruvian yellow potato to relieve the pain.

When I took the first bite, the world faded away. My eyes closed, sound diminished, and I went inside myself. The octopus was so transformative—the best I’d ever eaten—that each time it touched my tongue, my ability to converse faded away. I almost lost the power of thought!

For her appetizer, Irene chose—

Pejerrey silverside fish and other fish They are all celebrating, all fried and crispy. Multicolored streamers are falling, getting wet in sauces of hundreds of flavors. It’s a carnival.

(See what I mean about the whimsy of the menu?)

We shared each other’s dishes, of course, and in fact, all of us at the table traded nibbles, and the flavors were astonishing. I laughed, I cried, I got verklempt. I felt touched by God. Do I exaggerate? Perhaps But if you’d been there, so would you.

For my main course, I chose—

Tender baby goat The entire leg in a stew. Watercress salad. Lifelong Mortar-and-pestle potatoes. Juicy baby onions. Juice reduction with aromatic herbs. A classic.

I ordered it not just because I enjoy goat, but because it was the first time I’d ever seen baby goat on a menu. It was so tender that pressing gently against the meat with my fork was enough to remove it from the bone. And the flavor was exquisite.

Irene’s main course—

Suckling pig The entire leg … the rest is in a chifa (Peruvian-Chinese cuisine) version: A mimpao. A spring roll. A pancake. Some juice from a five-flavor chifa.

—was the most surprising. Who expects a suckling pig slider? The meat was luscious. (And it made me want to roast another suckling pig of my own, even though it would be nowhere near as good.)

Then it was time for dessert. I ordered—

La Manzana castigada (The Punished Apple) Baked apple in a caramel shell, served with dulce de leche spread foam, sphered apple juice reduction and ginger ice cream.

While someone else at the table chose—

Plátanos enjaulados dulcemente (Sweetly trapped bananas) Bananas in a caramel cage, served with coconut tapioca, goat cheese ice cream, Tía Rosa ́s sweet bean paste and cacao sauce with spices.

Again, the five of us shared, and lo, there was much giggling, for we were in the presence of magicians.

Here you see the happy band of travelers, the kitchen a flurry of activity behind us.

After three hours of dining, we were thinking it was time to relinquish our table. After all, the 3-1/2 hour tasting menu would begin at 10:30. (Tempting, but with a 3:30 a.m. wake-up call the following morning, I didn’t feel up to eating until 2:00 a.m.!) As we whispered to each other that perhaps we should ask for the check, our server appeared with a box which he placed in the center of our table. He opened four drawers to reveal yet another amuse bouche.

And the magic continued!

When we departed, I was satiated, but not stuffed, and I was exhilarated. (There were times during the meal when if you’d touched my arm, you would have felt goosebumps. Really!) I felt a little sad the next day, because how likely is it that I’ll ever be in Peru again to experience such a masterpiece of a meal? But then I thought … that is probably as it should be. A great meal is as ephemeral as a great theatrical performance, existing outside of time, never to be recreated.

But that doesn’t mean I’m not already thinking—how the heck can I manage to get back to Lima?

As we departed, I told any Astrid y Gaston employee who would listen that after the meal they served us, I was unsure which I would talk about the most to my friends after I got home—Machu Picchu or Astrid y Gaston. And to be honest, I’m still not sure which was the clear winner.

Yes, it was that good.