It’s almost hidden, squished into a strip mall just down the street from Home Depot on Third West, and I had to drive by twice before I could find it. K-Rico Peru.
I’m glad I did, though I may not go back too soon, which I’ll explain.
With large televisions blaring news from Peru (because that’s how you make a place feel Peruvian, I suppose), I found a seat in the clean and tidy dining room up front as soon as I walked in. It was a little before the lunch hour, and we were the only gringos in the room. (That changed later, but for a while…I only heard lots of Spanish buzzing through the air).
The waitress was quick and courteous. She came with drinks, as well as a tray of a sauce, or two sauces, I guess, as well as some roasted corn nuts. It’s been years since I’ve had corn nuts, and I’ve never had them fresh roasted. I liked them, though I found dipping them in the sauces more messy than I cared to try more than once.
For the entrée, I ordered the Lomo Saltado (I think?), a richly flavored dish of steak, chicken, fresh tomatoes, shrimp, and onions on a bed of hot fries. The flavor was a salty cumin that seemed to permeate everything on the plate. It was a ‘hot’ kind of spicy, but it certainly was not gentle, either. The meats were well marinated and for the most part tender. I hadn’t noticed that the meal would come on a plate of fries when I was ordering, but the fries were a welcome addition.
The meal also came with a side of rice, and I welcomed the bland flavor to balance the intense saltness of the Lomo Saltido, as were the tomatoes. Filled with wedges of fresh red tomatoes, they were an almost fruity contrast to the salt of the rest of the meal.
My gripes are few, but they are two-fold: first, it was a large plate, but I only found three shrimps. What gives? Second, the flavor, while rich and exotic, was almost too heavy and too salty. I found myself downing my water faster than my meal. (which, fortunately, they kept full).
One last note: apparently they do karaoke on Saturdays at 7 PM.
Service: 7/10
Atmosphere: 5/10 (because the t.v.s were large and set to Peru news…in Spanish)
Food: 12/20
Parking: 8/10
Eat-ability Quotient (an average of scores): 6.4/10
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After the Bar 