vip in the city

Cheap, cheap Pio Pio Riko

We’ve already known Greenpoint to have excellent Polish cuisine, but the area’s sizable Latino population means that food from countries south of the border shines here as well.

In 2006, popular Sunnyside joint Pio Pio Riko opened a location on Greenpoint’s Manhattan Avenue.  Like the original, this Peruvian restaurant and steak house specializes in pollo a la brasa, i.e., spit-roasted chicken; the front of the restaurant prominently displays racks of rotisserie chicken slowly rotating behind a glass-doored oven.

Pio Pio Riko’s menu features poultry, steak and seafood, including such Peruvian staples such as ceviche and plantains.  Tonight, though, we were here just for the chicken.

We munched on handfuls of the complimentary cancha (salted, toasted kernels of maize) from a bowl set on the red and white topped tables — one of several conspicuous displays of Peruvian pride.  In the background, the flat-screen television played — of all things — Showgirls.

The plate of quarter-chicken with white rice and red beans was a terrific value at under $5: all crisp skin and tender, moist meat, chunks of which we dipped greedily into the irresistibly creamy, spicy house ají sauce.  (Bonus plátano maduro courtesy of B’s plate.)

Pio Pio Riko is not related to the well-loved Pio Pio in Jackson Heights, the Upper East Side, the Bronx, the Upper West Side… or any of the seven Pio Pio branches throughout the city.  RM once remarked (with only slight exaggeration) that all Peruvian chicken places are called “pío pío” — the Spanish interpretation of a chirping chick sound.  Cuter and catchier than “coc co co coc” — Spanish for “cluck cluck” — or “kikirikí kikirikí,” which is Spanish for “cock-a-doodle-doo.”

Tags: Brooklyn, Greenpoint, Pio Pio Riko, roast chicken

An amazing preview

This morning I received an invitation to attend a Chinese New Year feast in about three weeks. New dishes, new friends… how could I say no?

Our group will be gathering at Amazing 66 – the warmly received venture by the chef of the former Danny Ng Restaurant (now ABC Chinese Restaurant). Chowhounds have been raving about this place since it opened a little over a year ago, but I’ve yet to make my way there. SL’s email put the restaurant back on my radar, so when it came time to pick a place for lunch, there we were.

The full dinner menu features some impressive items, which — dare I hope? — may be on the slate next month: an outrageous sounding pumpkin stuffed with short ribs, a house special crispy chicken stuffed with sticky rice… Midday, though, is a more scaled down affair.

The large dining room was packed this afternoon – always a good sign — so we were seated at a large communal table, which we shared with two other couples. Amidst the din of the lunch hour, we considered our options. Amazing 66’s single-sheet two-sided lunch menu is available Monday through Saturday from 11:00AM until 3:30PM; 70 items under headings of beef, chicken, pork, seafood, and bean curd & vegetable, served with white rice and choice of hot & sour or egg drop soup. For $4.95! The reverse side of the menu lists dozens of soups, congees, fried noodle and fried rice dishes.

Deciding from among the extensive list was not easy. Something about the chill of winter puts me in mind of my ongoing quest for the perfect roast chicken. Amazing 66 offers a Chinese version with preserved vegetable. Simple and comforting, I thought. What was placed before me minutes later far exceeded my expectations.

Wildly delicious!  Thin, crispy skin with juicy, tender meat, heaped with sweet and tangy shreds of vegetable… With the juices poured over a steaming bowl of white rice – just about as perfect a roast chicken as I’ve ever had, at any price.

If this is just a preview of the good eats to come, I wonder: how long will it take me to eat my way down Amazing 66’s lunch menu?

Tags: Amazing 66, Chinatown, roast chicken