Pio Pio

Seafood platter.

Pio Pio, located behind the Outback Steakhouse on East Boulevard, is known for its delicious Peruvian/Colombian rotisserie chicken. I haven't tried that yet but I did try the Jalea special, a wonderful seafood platter including both calamari and tilapia in a lime/tomato sauce with corn and onions that is simply delicious. I also sampled the mango juice, an arepa with cheese and a beef patty. The beef patty was a real standout. Two sauces, a garlic sauce and a green sauce are served with every meal - both really add a lot of flavor and probably go great with the chicken. I definitely plan on coming back to Pio Pio soon to try the chicken and other Peruvian / Colombian specialties offered.

Mango juice, beef patty (back) and cheese arepa.

Las Brasas - Decatur

Peruvian rotesserie chicken, potatoes with Huancaina Sauce, Salad and Roasted Corn.

Las Brasas - a takeout only Peruvian place in Decatur specializing in rotisserie chicken, is one of those charming hole-in-the-wall places you want to return to again and again. The owners were nice enough to entertain all of our questions about what to order and the chicken - so tender and juicy. I love the green hot sauce they serve on the side. The corn and potatoes were also delicious - the potatoes covered with a creamy spicy cheese sauce. On Thursday and Friday
they have Lomo Saltado - Peruvian stir fried steak. I plan to return to try this specialty soon. The flan also looked tasty. Specialty sodas are available and limited delivery is offered too.

Tuesday Night "Mexican" - Salsa Con Sabor

Tuesday night Mexican has become a tradition for one of my favorite groups - the UUCA 20's/30's. This week we ventured to Salsa Con Sabor, a restaurant specializing in Peruvian, Puerto Rican and Cuban cuisine (I know, none of these are Mexican, so we aren't exactly stuck to only one cuisine and to me, that's a good thing!). Going with a large group gave me the opportunity to take lots of great photos, and while I did not taste everything nor do I remember what everything is called, I will do my best. As far as the atmosphere of this place, our group of about ten was just about the only party in the place. This could be because they did not have any heat - yes, many of us were glad we had coats with us and we donned them for the entire meal! The service was a little slow considering how empty the place was, but the waiter was helpful and indulged us as we asked questions about Spanish pronunciations, ingredients and the meaning of "Salsa Con Sabor". My favorite thing here is the ceviche, although the spicy, creamy seafood is a close second. This is a good place to come experience a variety of cuisines and with a HUGE menu, I don't think you'll have a problem finding something - that is, unless you are a vegetarian as the person in our group who didn't eat meat was forced to eat french fries!

Chicken fricasse with sweet plantains and rice.



Mofongo (mashed, fried plantain ball), top, and chicken and beef kabobs.



Puerto Rican spaghetti, at least I think this was Puerto Rican - if not, please remind me someone!



Ceviche de Pescado - they offer a mixed seafood version as well that I'd like to try next time.



Cuban sandwich with beans and rice.



Spicy, creamy seafood stew with rice and an egg!



Mofongo with roasted port, rice and sweet plantains.

Machu Picchu Peruvian

Seafood Rice Special

Ceviche Mixto (fish and seafood)

This week I returned to Machu Picchu, one of Atlanta's few Peruvian restaurants. Although recent reports on Citysearch were negative, I found the food to be delicious and the service decent. I love any kind of raw fish or fish that's close to raw, so the ceviche was right up my alley. I also tasted the cooked seafood rice special, which tasted like a good, hearty paella. We also shared an empanada (strangely, this appetizer arrived after our entrees), which was tasty, as many fried pieces of dough are. I would return here in the future, although the prices are higher than many other Buford Highway dining establishments.

Machu Picchu Restaurant
3375 Buford Hwy NE # 1130 (Northeast Plaza)
Atlanta, GA 30329
(404) 320-3226

Loooong Overdue Mishmosh Post!

At Katzinger's Deli in Columbus

So yet again it has been awhile since I have posted...

In Columbus I did eat some good brisket at an authentic German deli called Katzinger's in the Germantown section where German immigrants settled generations ago. I also had some fairly decent Vietnamese food while I completed my adoption law exam in Columbus prior to leaving.

Back in Philly, I hit up Ten Stone, a nice bar/pub on South Street for a late lunch. I had a nice duck sandwich with berry sauce.















On August 8 I left Philly for a quick stop in Williamsburg and then on to Charlotte. In Charlotte I ate with my mom and stepdad, Steve at Copper, a modern Indian restaurant. We had some fabulous shrimp and Steve had his favorite lamb dish.

The next night my Dad, AKA Big Jon, took me to Nolen Kitchen, a newish restaurant that was voted "Best New Restaurant" in Charlotte by Creative Loafing's critics. I had a wonderful warm octopus salad and Dad had some yummy scallops served with pureed corn, asparagus and red peppers. For dessert we shared a strawberry shortcake with pink peppercorn ice cream! The ice cream was quite good, very creamy with a peppery kick.


Finally, on Saturday August 12 I had some food native to Arequipa, Peru at an event hosted by the Charlotte Sister Cities organization. My dad's girlfriend Diane is a Board Member so we had to check it out! The food was awesome and I don't really know what I ate exactly but the hot peppers stuffed with ground beef, raisins and nuts were very spicy and extremely delicious!