LINCOLN PARK — Peruvian cooking comes to Chicago on Sunday with the debut of Chopo Chicken at 2460 N. Clark St.
The chicken is marinated in Peruvian spices — most prominently aji amarillo, a yellow pepper — for 24 hours, then roasted in a charcoal oven for an hour. The pepper "definitely" gives it a bit of a kick, according to Victoria Orlandi, one of three partners on the new restaurant.
They're childhood friends from South America — Orlandi from Brazil, her partners from Peru — and when they all found themselves in Chicago they decided to take a stab at bringing the food they love to the city.
"We're just passionate about food from home," Orlandi said.
Chopo Chicken launches Sunday with free chicken and yuca fries from noon-3 p.m. It will be closed Mondays and begins regular hours from 9 a.m.-9 p.m. on Tuesday.
The menu includes quarter-chicken bowls at $10.95, so-called amazebowls including a cilantro beef stew at the same $10.95, with a ceviche bowl to soon follow.
Sides include those yuca fries, sweet-potato fries and a polleria coleslaw.
Pollo to go delivers a whole chicken and a large side for $24.95.
The restaurant is on an open corner at Clark and Arlington Place, which gives the building the opportunity to show off a colorful mural on the south wall, designed by Orlandi and inspired by Peruvian textiles.
"It is a great location," Orlandi said. "We built the whole thing from scratch."
