Taking influences from Chinese, Japanese, West African, Spanish, Italian and native cultures, Peru has more dishes than any other country in the world. As a result, it is a difficult endeavor for any restaurant to try and capture the full extent of Peruvian cuisine. Although Super Chicken only offers a fraction, it does a decent job of introducing its customers to the expansive diet of Peru.
Before even the first bite, Super Chicken, a Peruvian chicken place right off of Route 7, presents you with an unheard of treat: Chicha Morada, pineapple and purple corn juice. Although powerfully sweet, it has some sour undertones to the flavor that keeps the drink from becoming too sweet. In addition, the corn prevents the sugary aftertaste from disrupting the remainder of your meal.
One of the main courses, the charcoal-grilled rotisserie chicken, is the flagship of Super Chicken. The herbs and spices are packed into the chicken’s skin so there is not a proportionate amount of flavor between chicken flesh and skin. However, the spices only perfume the meat, bringing out the chicken’s natural flavor. They cook it to perfection so every single bite is succulent but not bloody. Overall, the chicken is worthy of the term “super.”
Alternatively, Super Chicken gives you a variety of sides to choose from, ranging from potato soup to French fries to re-fried beans to mixed vegetables. Eating the French fries would waste this commendable variety because they are indistinguishable from Super Chicken’s competitors. However, the potato soup is a nice alternative it is a little light on vegetables yet they pack enough flavor into the potatoes so that no one will be left dissatisfied.
One of Super Chicken’s specialty plates, the Lomo Saltado, consists of grilled steak, mixed vegetables and beef broth on a bed of French fries with a side of rice. The individual ingredients may have been basic on their own, but the combined dish was more complex. It seemed like something you would not typically find at a Peruvian chicken place, and at a reasonable price too ($8.99). Unfortunately, the steak on its own was not anything special. Thankfully, it was tender and did not take hours to chew. There was almost no taste out of the steak itself. For a Peruvian chicken place, however, I was not expecting the steak to be a delicacy. The beef broth, while a bit salty, did elevate the flavor of the beef. The mixed vegetables (tomatoes, green peppers and onions) were just there. They were a nice addition to the beef, but they did not add anything significant to the dish.
Normally, I like my fries crispy. I have to admit though, putting the steak-vegetable stew on top of the fries was a nice touch. They became soggy due to the beef broth, but without them, the dish would have been too bland. As for the rice, Super Chicken could have better. It was just some bland white rice with no spices or seasoning at all. If Latin American places do not make their rice with cumin (better know as “Mexican Rice”) they usually make it cilantro-lime style (the kind Chipotle makes). The fact that this rice had no spice did not necessarily ruin the eating experience, but it did not add anything to the dish.
I admire Super Chicken for trying to pull off a steak dish, but it was not anything spectacular and I would never buy it again.
As for desert, one should stay within the parameters of tres leches and alfajores. Despite the variety of desert they offer, dishes like the strawberry mousse seem more like flavorless jello than anything else. However the tres leches is a fan favorite amongst Super Chicken customers and after trying the creamy layered desert you will see why. As for the alfajores, they are good snack to accompany any meal.
Super chicken provides good exposure to the expansive delicacies of Peru but it’s not exactly fine dining. Although the service proves to be adapting and the quality of the food exceptional it will nevertheless leave some of its audience unsatisfied.