Perfect Peruvian

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I suppose it is a bold claim to state that the Peruvian food that I have indulged upon at two separate restaurants was perfect having never been to Peru myself, but I can claim that i found the food to be absolutely stupendous. I had always wanted to go to Peru, it is on the top of my list and I very nearly made it there back in uni but when that trip fell apart the farthest I ever made it down south was Costa Rica. This is by no means a complaint, Costa Rica is AMAZING as is its food. Now the question is, is Costa Rican food anything like Peruvian? The thing is, when I was in Costa Rica I was just a budding foodie, I had thrown away my vegetarian ways on a delicious Iguana curry and had finally started to eat beans and avocados and even tried mystery meat here and there but it is hard to say I got the full blown experience with food although it was a serious start.

My mom's art teacher was the first one to recommend Peruvian food and specific Peruvian food to be exact, she told us to head on over to Super Pollo in Brick. With nothing to do on a Friday night my little brother who is as picky as I use to be, my mom and I all made our way out to what would be our first dive into Peruvian cuisine. Found in a the plaza right off 70 with Buffalo Wild Wings, is a small little joint that would be extremely easy to over look if you didn't google it to make sure it actually exist. You walk in and there are just a few tables, a few tv with Spanish channels on, and the counter where the one lone server waits to take your order.

I have no idea if he is the sole worker at Super Pollo but he is a lovely fellow who gave us a little insight into the food we would be ordering. He chatted with us a bit about the food and then we ordered up. After being given the recommendation by both the art teacher and the fellow who works there we ordered up some Maduros (fried sweet plantains) as an appetizer although this is clearly a delicious dessert to start off our meal with. My brother, never a fan of seafood, choose the Milanesa del Pollo (chicken), my mom opted for ceviche, and I naturally chose the spiciest dish I could find on the menu, Picante de Mariscos (seafood in chili sauce). With my order I nixed the rice and got an avocado salad to accompany what I hoped with be a spicy ensemble of all kinds of seafood in what I love most, CHILI.

It took quite some time to get our food but that is expect when it is absurdly fresh and it appeared there was only one person cooking it up. The wait was SO worth it. The Maduros was the first to be placed before us and it was fabulous. I really do try and avoid fried food but the exception had to be made for these far exceed any and all fried plantains I had tried in Costa Rica and back then I did not avoid fried ANYTHING.

As we licked our fingers to get any remaining crumbs from the Maduros off of our fingers we were presented with our entrees. My mothers Shrimp Ceviche was the first dish to be placed before us and every bit of it was wonderful. It was so wonderful in fact that I can hands down without a doubt in my mind say that this ceviche was the best ceviche I had ever had in my life. I had never had ceviche with these tiny, tasty Peruvian toasted corn kernel things that just elevated the dish to an extreme that was sending my taste buds into over drive. As I tried not to consume every bit of my mother's dish, mine was placed before me pipping hot. The Picante de Mariscos may not be for everyone. It certainly does have a kick but nothing that will send tears down your eyes. No that wasn't what made my mother hesitate to dip her spoon into the goodness that was my dish. No it was the tentacle to my octopus that was a bit off putting to her. Now I ate tentacles quite a bit in the village so a set of suckers staring me in the eyes was nothing to write home about, but for those who doesn't eat that on a regular basis I suppose it may not be the first thing you want to pop in your mouth. Lastly my brother was presented with a lovely plate of a traditional meal down in Latin America, chicken and rice. Each of our meals were stupendous and left us will filled bellies. But not filled enough to pass on dessert.

We had hoped to try either the alfajores (traditional Peruvian carmel filled flaky pastry dusted with powdered sugar) or the Mazamorra Morada (Peruvian purple corn pudding with bits of pineapple and apple spiced with cinnamon). Seriously don't those both sound astounding?! Okay purple corn may sound a bit odd but I was ready to sink my spoon into anything presented before me. Unfortunately the dessert options were lacking on this particular evening and we ended with a simple Crema Volteade (Caramel custard flan). Never a huge fan of flan I was impressed by this one

Maduros - Fried SweetPlantains $3.00

Milanesa del Pollo -Slightly breaded thinly sliced chicken and Rice and salad $12.00

Shrimp Ceviche - Fresh shrimp marinated in lime juice and chili; served with onions, lettuce, sweet potato, Peruvian toasted corn kernels $13.00

Picante de Mariscos - Mixed seafood cooked in a mild red chili sauce; served with white rice $13.00

Crema Volteada - Caramel custard flan $3.00

Five Stars for my first Peruvian Experience!

http://www.yelp.com/biz/super-pollo-ii-brick



When it was nearly time to send my little (I should really say younger since he stopped being smaller than me10 years ago) brother back to college my mom, brother and I went out for yet another one of our ethnic meals. The goal for the day was to tickle our taste buds with Mediterranean but when we stood before a restaurant that was Italian we simply hung our shoulders a bit in defeat but more out of sheer hunger. The restaurant before us was Italian and holding no appeal to any of us we began a hunt to find something NOW.

Our stomachs rumbling we checked out yet another closed Mediterranean place that even if it was open lacked any appeal. So as we proceed to our car we noticed across the street a little hole in the wall (always a good sign) next to a cross fit training centre (means its healthy right?). We sped walk across the street to take a gander at the menu where a woman came on out and encouraged us to come in. Perhaps it was her adorable demeanor, her fabulous accent or the fact that we were starving but whatever the case we were lured into West End Rotisserie and Salads.

West End Rotisserie and Salads was very reminiscent of Super Pollo. It was tiny with just a few tables and a counter where the woman who lured us in stood along with her one waiter. My brother ordered up Mango Madness Smoothie while I settled on Chicha Morado (fresh purple corn juice). I had missed out on the dessert form at Super Pollo so I made sure to chim it here At this little spot that we stumbled upon. You can never really go wrong with a mango smoothie but what to to expect from a purple corn juice? As it turns out this Peruvian concoction is really quite fabulous. It is rather sweeter than I prefer but when you boil up purple corn, pineapple, cinnamon, and sugar I suppose there is really nowhere to go but sweet!

From there mother and I decided to split a salad and entree. The salad was a lovely shrimp mango salad with a lovely light orange mango dressing while our entree was a steamed tilapia, while my brother opted for beef with rice and beans. Much like Super Pollo the wait was long, real long, but worth it when you know you are getting fresh ingredients and completely forgiven when the food turns out spectacular.

The salad emerged and the grand portion was what first stood out. red leaf lettuce, spinach, red bell peppers, red onions, tomatoes, and almonds topped with shrimp and the dressing was nice and refreshing and a great way to start out the mean as we awaited our much longed for dishes. Our steamed fish, which we are almost certain was tilapia, was placed in front of us and we pounced. Our fish was paired with white rice, that we barely touched, yuca and sweet potato while the fish itself soaked in the delicious sauce and was topped with onions and tomatoes. Although we ignored the rice, nothing else remained. The fish was so delicious that even my brother, a professed fish hater, took a bite and said it wasn't that bad. That is saying A LOT. But the dish of all dishes was my brothers, beef with rice and beans. I've never been a huge lover of beef, I'd much prefer seafood or chicken but this beef was so tender and fell apart it practically melted in my mouth. If that wasn't grand enough the sauce it was simmering in sent my taste buds on a whirl wind adventure. It was so fabulous that it was hard to keep my fork off of his plate!

Full but not busting at the seams yet we ordered up dessert. Tartufo Ice Cream was ordered up and presented before us at unprecedented speed. How can you go wrong with vanilla and chocolate ice cream encrusted in hard chocolate drizzled with more chocolate and paired with diced pineapple. With the exception of the marakeesh cherry we devoured the plate, battling each other for more than our share of 1/3 of the dessert.

Although I cant attest to true authenticity I can proclaim that both of these restaurants will send your taste buds on a lovely adventure. It is hard for me to say which is better, but I believe that West End may take the prize simply because the fish and beef dish may be two of the best dishes I have ever eaten AND ice cream will always beat flan.

So although I award both restuarants the max of five stars, I dub West End the winner of the Peruvian battle.

http://westendrotisserie.com/

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Photos

Seafood in Chili Sauce
See the tentacle?