Birmingham - Machu Picchu
I may have had the most tender goat I've ever tasted during lunch today at Machu Picchu, the recently opened Peruvian restaurant on Valley Avenue (700 Valley Avenue, in the plaza with Great Wall and Taqueria La Reyna).
The Cabrito ala Nortena ($6.50 lunch, $10 dinner) is a filling dish. The goat stew, with a rich gravy, was served on top of creamy white beans. Alongside was a mound of steamed white rice, with sliced purple onion and tomato added as condiments. The goat meat was flavorful but not at all gamy.
I also tried the chicharron de calamar ($8.50), a generous platter of house-made fried calamari served with a very nice green dipping sauce and what seemed to be a form of tartar sauce.
The woman working the front of the house said the restaurant specializes in cebiche ($10-$12.95). The menu includes several combinations of fish, shrimp and other seafood marinated in lemon and chile. She also recommended trying the Tacu Tacu con Lomo Saltado($9.95), sauteed beef loin with rice and beans.
The food will be familiar, yet exotic. It also reflects the influence that immigrants from Japan and Italy have had on Peruvian cuisine.
You'll find steak dishes, grilled chicken dishes, spaghetti dishes (including fettucini Alfredo), fried-rice dishes, stews, fried fish -- all with a Pervian twist.
Meals start both with tortilla chips and (a very tasty) salsa, and a bowl of fried banana chips and fried corn.
The sell beer, wine and mixed drinks. Friday through Sunday night, the restaurant turns into a nightclub, with dancing under a spinning ball, I'm told.
The ambience is nothing special, lots of llama images and a cool mural depicting the ruins at Machu Picchu. Vegetarians won't find much to enjoy on the menu (unless those white beans are vegetarian).
Can't wait to try the cebiche and the estofado de albondigas, meatball stew.
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Dax
Apr 12, 2009 08:56 AM
The cabrito in the green sauce was awesome and so were those peruvian beans. Chips and salsa, including plaintain chips were very good too. Very nice staff. I was the only one in there on a Monday night.
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re: muehlbauer1375
Attaching whole pages is not going to work at this time - they become too small to read.
I will crop the pictures and re-post so you can actually read the menu.
Here is the restaurant info as printed on the front page of the menu:
Machu Picchu
Peru
Restaurant Steak & Seafood
Peruvian Cuisine
700-C Valley Avenue
Birmingham, AL 35209
205-945-9321
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SkippyLeBeef
Apr 6, 2009 12:33 PM
Thanks, BD, for that review. Been needing a place that could serve up some good cabrito. Will definitely check it out.
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