Start off with palta rellena, essentially a half avocado stuffed with potatoes embedded with peas and shredded chicken. Ceviche offers an assortment of seafood ‐ such as shrimp, octopus, calamari and tilapia ‐ marinated in lime juice and Peruvian rocoto chiles. It's served with ‐ no surprise ‐ two kinds of potatoes and corn.
Jump 2 Web: Peruvian restaurants
Ay Ay Picante 4569 N. Elston Ave.
Chicago, IL 60630 http://www.ayaypicante.com
Peru, like America, is a melting pot of culture. In addition to indigenous cultures, native Africans, Chinese and Japanese also set down roots. (In fact, Peru has more Chinese restaurants than any other country in Latin America.) Ay Ay Picante features this heritage by rounding out its menu with a selection of Chinese Peruvian-style beef fried rice and soy-sauced noodle dishes. If you're looking for something more traditional, you'll find plenty of ceviche and seafood dishes, along with enormous platters of fried steak served with arroz blanco. BYOB.
DINING
Variations on a theme Ceviche gives chefs a canvas for creativity
Ay Ay Picante Peruvian Cuisine, 4569 N. Elston Ave., 773-427-4239. You'll find three varieties of ceviche here, including a version with tilapia and (ultra spicy!) Peruvian rocoto chiles ($8.90-$12.90)
Ay Ay Picante
4569 North Elston Avenue
773-427-4239 Peruvian
Calling all spudsters. Potatoes originated in Peru and the good folks over at Ay Ay Picante—an open kitchen storefront with wall designs of pre-Columbian glyphs—know exactly what to do with them. Ocopa, boiled potatoes topped with cheese sauce, Peruvian black mint, and walnuts, tastes marvelous ($6.50). Papas rellenas, deep-fried mashed potatoes stuffed with savory beef and raisins ($6), also delight. Zesty seviche de pescado comes with corn, onions, and boiled potatoes ($9.90), and rich marinated beef heart shish kebab ($6) with—you guessed it—boiled potatoes. For dessert—a fine wedge of flan—not a tuber in sight. BYO.
Ay Ay Picante
4569 N. Elston Ave. • 773-427-4239 • $$
This authentic Peruvian restaurant on the north side brings
you a vast and diverse menu showcasing the delights of
Peru. Jaime Bardales and Camucha Bardales ensure that
their guests receive exceptional service and delicious
cuisine including the house specialty: a variety of seafood
dishes. You can also select from beef and chicken entrées,
appetizers, soups and sweet scrumptious desserts. Experience
this exquisite and timeless cuisine tonight.
DINING
Try this taste of South America--in Chicago
The restaurant: Ay Ay Picante Peruvian Cuisine, 4569
N. Elston Ave., 773-427-4239
The food: Rice, beans, meats, stews (called ajis and
made with cilantro and walnuts), noodles, Chinese-like
fried rices, ceviches, beef heart skewers, stuffed and
sauce-slathered potatoes.
Standout dish: Lomo saltado is a much beloved Peruvian
dish of beef loin strips, onions and tomatoes sauteed
together and topped with thick french fries. This hearty
meal is even better when topped with a little creamy
chile-spiked sauce that's also called aji (and pronounced,
a-HEE).
Wash it down with: Inca Kola, a super sweet yellow
soda that tastes like bubble gum.
The anticuchos (grilled steak on a stick) were very good, so go get them! Don't get the tamales though - they lack the Peruvian flair. However, the "salsa criolla" (onion salsa) that came with it totally rocked my world! I wasn't too thrilled by the "tiradito" (ceviche-like dish made with chili peppers original to Peru, and one of my favorite meals ever); it wasn't tangy enough, nor did it tease my taste-buds the way good tiradito always does, so don't order it from here. I think I will try the ceviche next time though. And the seco de cordero - it looked and smelled great when it was ordered by some other table... yu-um!
The hearty, aromatic dishes at this Peruvian BYOB restaurant are sure to please the meat, sauce and stew lover in you. But arrive prepared to eat, as nibbling is not an option. Get off to a hot start with the tamale appetizer, brimming with chicken and olives in a soft cornmeal and banana leaf shell, or cool down with boiled potatoes served chilled in a sauce of fresh mint, walnuts and cheese.
It's easy to gorge on the appetizers, but save room for the truly enormous entrees (average $11-$13): The Peruvian-spiced sirloin steak consumes the entire plate, covering a mound of homemade fries beneath it, and the shredded chicken with creamy walnut sauce and a side of rice is loaded with poultry. Traditional Peruvian desserts are available, but if you've reached the "unbutton the pants" zone, polish off the meal with Inka Cola, a sweet Peruvian soda that tastes like bubble gum.
