By Robert Nadeau | Taken from ThePhoenix.com
"Having made a success of their remarkably authentic Peruvian restaurant in Union Square, the owners of Machu Picchu moved it to a bigger space up 30 yards across the street. Then they cleaned out that original room, installed a rotisserie, modernized the décor, and opened up a new restaurant in the old space — confusingly, also called Machu Picchu — with an even-less-expensive menu of Peruvian treats (and some holdovers). Want a $9 chicken dinner or a $14 steak? You could put up with a little pan-flute music for that, right?
Curiously, the yucca fries ($6.95), native to Peru and served with most entrées, are only middling, not really crisp, while the plantains — from Africa — are wonderfully sweet, and the yuquitas ($6.95) — native to Brazil — are glorious. This may be due to the fact that yucca is closer to pure starch than is a potato, so the symphony of starch, grease, and salt is uninhibited by too many vitamins or minerals. It also may have to do with correct frying temperatures, which are different for yucca and potatoes. Certainly the huancaina sauce, borrowed from an Andean potato dish, is a major factor in the success of Machu Picchu’s yucca fries. It’s creamy with rich flavor and real bite courtesy of the Peruvian yellow chili called aji amarillo. Another creamy sauce is available, this one green and a little less incendiary. Both make wonderful fried-yucca dips.
Choclo Peruano ($6.99), a seasonal peasant meal of corn on the cob with only eight rows of giant white kernels, is a fine traditional appetizer. It comes frozen from Peru and is served with rubbery white cheese. You could also move into the key of meat with combination street-snack platters. The “Picante” ($12.99) features grilled tripe, chicken gizzards, and pieces of beef-heart meat, all pre-treated with cumin and pepper. The beef heart, the classic “anticucho” ($7.99 à la carte), is the best, though the gizzards are too chewy and need more taste of the fire. The tripe are the easiest to eat, but don’t absorb flavor so well.
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More information about Machu Picchu:
Machu Picchu Charcoal Chicken & Grill | 617.623.7972 | 25 Union Square, Somerville | AE, DC, DI, MC, VI | Open Mon–Thurs, 11:30 am–10 pm; Fri and Sat, 11:30 am–11 pm; and Sun, 11 am–10 pm | Beer and wine | No valet parking | Sidewalk-level access
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