Find delectable dishes served with a side of Peruvian pride at this Phoenix eatery. Chef Omar Velarde is proud of his Peruvian heritage. The comfort food he serves at El Chullo is plated with a smile and a side of Andean trivia. For example, the eatery’s namesake is a woolen earflap hat worn to protect against chilly mountain winds. Chullo patterns are unique to the wearer, with designs indicating ancestry, wealth or marital status.
Owned by Velarde’s parents, Esperanza Luzcando and Jose Ramirez, El Chullo is pretty unique itself – a down-home South American cafe located in CenPho’s trendy Coronado food corridor. Authentic down to the Andean art prints and hand-knit chullos hanging on gold and maroon walls, it offers a deliciously rustic change of pace from the gastropub norm.
The gold-maroon color scheme is mirrored in El Chullo’s chicha morada ($2.95 glass/$7.95 pitcher), a tart purple corn drink that tastes a bit like grape Hi-C, and in complimentary bowls of toasted maiz chulpe. Basically popcorn without the “pop,” the latter is crunchy, habit-forming, and – according to Velarde – especially appealing to pregnant women.
Potatoes and chiles are staples of the Peruvian diet, found here in starchy starters like ocapa and papa a la huancaina ($6.95), boiled tubers coated in a peppery cheese sauce similar to a Southwestern hollandaise. El Chullo’s take on papa rellena ($6.95) is more like a Coney Island knish on steroids. With a savory filling of raisins and masterfully spiced beef, the rellena was so palatable I wolfed it down faster than a puppy to table scraps.
Traveling Spaniards introduced beef to Peru, just as Velarde enticed me to sample anticucho ($8.95). The appeal of marinated, skewered cow heart is difficult to swallow, yet the popular Peruvian street food won our tickers with its pungent flavor and tender, veal-like texture. The succulent pot roast of frijoles con seco a la Norteña ($14.95) is a much easier sell, as is lomo saltado ($13.95). A definite crowd pleaser, Velarde’s mouthwatering twist on French poutine drowns lean beef strips and shoestring fries in a tangy soy-based sauce that’s pure finger-licking awesomeness.
El Chullo also makes a mean escabeche de pollo ($10.95) with pungent, aji-spiced dark chicken and cilantro-studded aguadito ($5.95) that’s creamier and more flavorful than your average chicken soup. Described as “sainted” seafood over rice, arroz con mariscos ($16.95) suffers from overly fishy broth that dominates the sweeter notes of shrimp and calamari. This paella doppelganger’s saving grace is a chuckle-inducing menu misprint. “Sainted? Maybe it was blessed by a priest,” my dining companion joked. Probably not. However, the buttery filets of jalea de pescado ($16.95) are quite heavenly. The lightly battered whitefish and starchy cassava have an airy crispness that’s refreshing for fried fare.
Peruvians love a sweet ending. Dual custards are rich enough to earn you a few Hail Marys in repentance, and the caramel filling of alfajores ($5.95) is sinfully creamy despite the dryness of the accompanying cookies. The appetizing helado de lucuma ($5.95) features a fleshy yellow, avocado-like Andean fruit with a soft mocha flavor and undertones of burnt toffee. Forget Starbucks – I’ll take this dessert over a latte anytime.
For ethnic fare, El Chullo is as close to Midwestern meat-and-potatoes as it gets. But Velarde isn’t about to let diners forget where the Luzcando-Ramirez family hails from. From anticucho to lucuma ice cream, the heart of Peru is in every bite.
DETAILS
El Chullo Peruvian Restaurant & Bar
Cuisine: Peruvian
Contact: 2605 N. Seventh St., Phoenix, 602-279-8425, elchulloperu.com
Hours: 11:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday-Tuesday, 11:30 a.m.-8:30 p.m. Wednesday-Friday, 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Saturday, 9 a.m.-6:30 p.m. Sunday.
Highlights: Chicha morada ($2.95 glass/$7.95 pitcher); papa rellena ($6.95); anticucho ($8.95); lomo saltado ($13.95); aguadito ($5.95); jalea de pescado ($16.95); helado de lucuma ($5.95)
