Wanted to give a plug for fellow local blogger Dan Reed, who writes Just Up the Pike and is running the Great Peruvian Taste Test.
Starting this Friday (Jan. 29), you'll be able to vote on your fave Peruvian pollo dining spots in the area. The top five rated restaurants will then be taste-tested by an obvious connoisseur of pollo a la brasa, Mr JUTP.
I myself have never tried Peruvian rotisserie chicken. It certainly sounds good with its mix of garlic, cumin and chili powder. Maybe if I can get a rotisserie attachment for my home grill I'll give it a try over the summer. Watching this video of one of my fave TV chefs, Tony Bourdain, does make my mouth water. And please note, he's eating in Northern VA.
But I just can't bring myself to hit up one of our local places to try out what I'm sure I would like. Since abandoning the vegetarian bandwagon I have chowed down on my fair share of poultry. But for me, I don't want to eat any industrially-raised birds. And I feel confident this is the case at pretty much every place that serves pollo a la brasa. I'd love to hear otherwise, because I'd definitely go out of my way to try it.
I know we have some great farmers locally raising terrific birds and I'm sure there are even bigger ones outside the region using humane practices that probably could supply a fair amount of birds to a restaurant. I'm not holding my breath, but it'd be fabulous if one of these restaurants gave it a try to see how popular this would be.
I know everyone would not want to pay a premium for this, but I bet some would. I mean, what would it be, $1 or $2 more per entree? Here's hoping someone emails and says they've found humanely-raised pollo a la brasa.
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7 comments:
How do you say "organic, free-range chicken" in spanish?
@JUTP: "delicioso"
@SoCo: You and I need to take a field trip. I haven't been since they opened up the new place.
Good luck with your quest, SoCo, but I wouldn't be too optimistic. Depending on who you ask, factory farming accounts for a "low" of 97 percent of all meat produced, to 99 percent of all meat (and dairy and eggs).
The remaining 1-3 percent of non-factory farmed chickens will by necessity be expensive, and I'd be surprised if this restaurant purchased them (or if it wanted to, if its customer base would pay the extra money).
Springvale, I don't hold out much hope either. I go by the 99% figure when it comes to industrially-raised meats. I'm getting to the point I only eat meat - and just about including fish now - at home, when I know the origins of what I'm eating. It's too bad. While I don't think it would be a big market for sustainably-raised meats, I do think there is a niche market for it. If not, why are farmers markets thriving in the area?
And Eric - what field trip are you proposing? I'm intrigued.
Dan's survey may show that Crisp & Juicy isn't the most favored place for chicken, but you can't beat the location - directly across the street from the Silver Spring metro en route home.
Walkability factor = 100
Two options:
(1) Go to El Pollo Rico
(2) I've found what seems to be a pretty good recipe, but we might have to go to a store in Fairfax for the ingredients. I work wsith a guy from Peru who says he know the secret. Just have to know where to find it.
Plus no skipping out on the hardwood charcoal. Which means beers out back by the grill... Sounds nice, eh?
It does sound nice - just not today. Count me in. Just let me know what we have to do acquire the proper ingredients and once it's warm enough outside we'll get our pollo a la brasa on!
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