Pio Pio: Good Good
With the plethora of Italian, Mexican, Japanese, and not to mention Japanese-Chinese-Vietnamese fusion restaurants on the Upper East Side, it’s easy to forget there are other types of places as well. You just have to look a little harder.
Take Pio Pio for instance, a tiny Peruvian establishment on 1st Ave between 90th and 91st Streets.
I’ve never had Peruvian fare before and wasn’t sure what it would entail. Chicken seems to be their thing - “pio pio” is Spanish for the sounds chickens make - with either whole or half chickens available marinated in a “special Peruvian sauce.” Also offered as part of the Peruvian Combo are “large french fries,” which we couldn’t figure out. Large as in gigantic, or large as in a hefty serving?
Anyway, we decided to forgo both the chicken and french fries (large or small) and went with the cebiche, a fish appetizer cured in lemon juice, and the jalea, a seafood platter topped with red onions, as well as a variety of side dishes (red beans, saffron rice, yuca fries, and avocado salad). So we were hungry.
Both seafood dishes rocked. It was the citrus-cilantro combo that made the cebiche, and as for the jalea, how can you go wrong with fried octopus and shrimp? We ordered the medium and it was ricidulously huge, ie, a plate piled several inches high (by the way, fuck you to the frat boys and sorority girls beside us who looked at our dinner aghast). The sides were good too, though I learned I’m probably not such a fan of yuca, which is much denser and heavier than potatoes.
The price is right too. Our medium-sized jalea, which could have easily fed three people, was just $16, and the cebiche, which was $10, easily fed two. And it looks like you can get a whole frigging chicken for just $8! Now if that’s not a deal, I don’t know what is.
Expect a wait though. Apparently the restaurant doesn’t accept reservations for parties under three, and when the guy tells you it’s a 10-minute wait, you should probably ask which 10 minutes he’s referring to. We stood outside for about 40 minutes (like I said, the place is miniscule with little bar space).
But it was well worth the wait. Service is friendly and speedy, and the decor is pretty too. A random guy summed it up best: “This is the kind of place I’d still go when I move away from here.” I concur.
Peruvian? Yeah, I’ve never even heard of a place serving Peruvian food. I’ll have to look it up and see if we have anything like that around my city.
Thanks for the recommendation Doris. I loves me some Peruvian food and I’m always looking for new, good places. There’s a great place in Williamsburg called Chimu–their food is outrageously good and they give you huge portions too. Surprisingly the place is almost entirely hipster free. It’s right next to Union Pool. I highly recommend it.
Their chicken is so incredibly off the hook it’s not even funny. The spicy greenish sauce is terribly addictive. Also recommended are the salchipapas (chopped hotdogs & fries), maduros (fried plantains), and the avocado salad. The portions are all overly huge for the price. and it’s hipster free. there’s another peruvian place that opened on 1st in the 80’s- Banderos- but it looks way pricier.
dana & jimony: i didn’t know “hipster-free” was such an important prerequisite. :D zagat’s should include that in their ratings.
thanks, dana, for the recommendation in williamsburg, and jimony for the pio pio dish recs. i definitely want to try the chicken next time.
i saw banderos too. i agree that it seems more expensive and stuffier as well.
There’s a great Peruvian restaurant in Hell’s Kitchen called Rinconcito Peruano. 803 9th Ave. (Between 53rd & 54th St).
thanks hoyt. yay! another place to try.