Week12 - Peru/Granja de Oro

Well it’s getting a little harder to keep up with weekly reviews – time passes!! Week 11 is Peru and Granja de Oro, a non descript Peruvian rotisserie chicken restaurant in Adams Morgan. The restaurant is a casual, fast food type restaurant that caters to the many recent immigrants in Adams Morgan.

I ordered the ¼ chicken with yucca and house salad. The dish is served with little containers of green and white sauce – spicy sauces to add heat to the chicken. The chicken was a breast on the bone with a unique, smoky or grilled flavor - their own unique cooking method. And the spicy sauces add just enough heat to make the meal. I actually picked up the chicken to gnaw some of the skin I couldn’t get off with my knife and fork – next time I’ll get the ½ chicken size. The yucca was fried and tasted close to french fries, and the house salad was a nice cool contrast to the chicken.

I was reminded of the chicken at Nando’s Peri Peri from week 9. Both are flavorful and spicy versions of the same chicken cuts. And maybe this one of those bigger picture observations. People in Peru, or Mozambique, or Adams Morgan enjoy a very similar dish that they call their own. Maybe we're all not so different after all..

Anyway, Granja is the type of restaurant that I want to continue to sample; a restaurant that serves the native populations in DC with food from back home. So I enjoyed the meal, but I need to order some more sides to experience more flavors they offer. I should have gotten a soup or the plantains. Next time…