Its so hot and spicy. Review on Chef Grill Foods, Mumbai

Peruvian rotisserie chicken, or Pollo a las Brasa, features crisp skin, and tender, juicy meat.The rotisserie chicken, flavored with a mixture of paprika, garlic, soy sauce and other

spices, is one of the most traditional dishes in Peru, and it shines at Rocoto’s Grill, where

chef Damaris Trinidad and her family celebrate the gorgeous and complex interplay of

flavors that are the hallmarks of their homeland’s cuisine.

At this family­owned restaurant just a

few miles from SeaWorld San

Antonio, the bright and tart cebiche

(Peruvian spelling) sings with an

unforgettable clarity, while the smoky

beefiness of anticuchos satisfies deeply

and the butterscotchlike flavor of the

tropical fruit lucuma shines in a

licuado(smoothie) and an ice cream.

Both the menu and the friendly

sincerity of the Trinidad family entranced me when I first reviewed the restaurant, but I

was curious as to how the place was holding up five years later. In restaurant terms, five

years is an eternity and most independently owned restaurants don’t last that long, and

those that do usually change considerably.

Fortunately, Rocoto’s still captivates. Of the few changes I noticed, they were for the

better.

To be sure, the food still is the main

attraction. Service is friendly and

knowledgeable — family members and

their staff gladly take the extra

moments to explain the cuisine to those

unfamiliar with it — but the place is

casual and the polished interior evokes the feel of a chain restaurant. All the

more reason to focus on the dishes.

Peruvian cuisine is one of the world’s

great fusion foods, combining

influences from Spain, Italy, West

Africa, China and Japan, while

maintaining its roots in the indigenous

populations that predated the arrival of

the conquistadores more than 500

years ago. Around the world, it’s huge.

This year a restaurant in Lima made it

in the top 20 list of the world’s finest

dining establishments, while culinary

stars Ferran Adrià of Spain and Alain

Ducasse of France tout Peruvian

cuisine’s importance.

Globally, Peruvian cuisine is best

known for its cebiche, the lightly

marinated raw seafood. At Rocoto’s,

the fish, shrimp or mixture of seafoods are tossed in freshly squeezed lime juice with

slightly hot rocoto peppers, thinly sliced red onions, minced garlic and minced cilantro

and served with housemade corn nuts, boiled corn kernels, a slice of boiled white potato, a

slice of boiled sweet potato and a small glass of the marinating liquid for sipping. By the

way, that elixir, leche de tigre, or tiger’s milk, is considered an aphrodisiac.

The dish that should rise to a similar level of fame stars cooked fish and is called

escabeche de pescado, a fillet of mahi mahi seasoned thoroughly, fried until crisp and then

tossed in a vinegary tomato sauce with sauteed onions. There’s just enough sauce to

soften the crust slightly but not render it soggy. By itself, the fish would make for a

satisfying dish, but the tartness of the sauce elevates the fillet into transcendence.

Juxtaposing flavors highlight the home­cooking classic lomo saltado, a mixture of marinated beef strips that are stir­fried with a slightly tangy and salty sauce with sliced

onions and red peppers and then tossed with french fries and served with white rice. Now,

the restaurant offers a version of the dish with shrimp, or a shrimp and beef mixture, but

the best option still is the original beef.

If you want a pure beef flavor, try the

anticuchos. Although similar in

appearance to the Fiesta anticuchos,

these are not sirloin cubes but rather

thin, marinated slices of beef heart,

skewered, briefly grilled and served

medium­rare to deliver an intensity

reminiscent of a dry­aged steak.

Among the appetizers, the causa de

pollo is a must. Traditionally, it’s a

dumpling of stuffed mashed potatoes.

At Rocoto’s, it’s a torte with two layers

of mashed potatoes seasoned with

lemon and slightly spicy aji amarillo

sandwiching a layer of shredded

chicken with mayonnaise and more aji

amarillo. The texture of mashed

potatoes and shredded chicken feel

instantly familiar, but the seasonings

are new for those not acquainted with

Peruvian cooking, and the overall

effect is at once comforting and

exciting.

Aji amarillo also flavors a creamy

sauce that covers slices of boiled

potatoes in a dish called papa a la

huancaina. The texture almost looks like melted Velveeta, but it’s a cool,

spicy sauce that will banish any

comparisons to the processed American cheese.

At this point, even though you’ll be stuffed, you’re going to want dessert. My suggestion

is to get the combination of arroz con leche(rice pudding) and a fruity purple pudding

called mazamorra morada that tastes of cooked pineapples and figs. Then take home an

order of alfajores, the sandwich cookies of shortbread and dulce de leche.

When I last visited, I wished that the restaurant offered beer and wine. The owners went

one step further: They added an all­Peruvian wine list, several beers and evenpisco sours,

the national cocktail of Peru.

Maybe it’s good that my own house is far away from this restaurant. Otherwise, I’d

practically live here