Cuzco Chicken Run

Date published: 9/22/2005

By LINDA SALISBURY

For THE FREE LANCE-STAR

Good news! You don't have to travel to South America to taste delicious Peruvian food.

Walter Villa opened Cuzco Chicken Run about five months ago on Fall Hill Avenue, and he expects to open a second, larger, restaurant in Central Park near Buffalo Wild Wings Grill and Bar this year.

Because My Dining Partner and I enjoyed Peruvian food at a favorite Florida restaurant before our move to Virginia last year, the sign for Cuzco Chicken Run, featuring Peruvian-style charcoal-broiled chicken, caught our eye.

We stopped by for lunch on a couple of occasions and decided to return for dinner on a weekend, when specials such as ceviche are available.

Friends who had never tried Peruvian food joined us. (Footnote: Cuzco is the former capital of the Incan empire in the Americas, and it means "navel" or center of the world.)

Tucked into a strip mall, the restaurant immediately plunges customers into the experience of another country. The television near the four tables often features Latino shows, and the radio in the kitchen plays similar music.

Villa told us that most of his business in this location is takeout, and there was a steady stream of customers picking up orders.

We quickly ordered ceviche ($9.95) before they ran out of it. (Twice now we have been too late for the tamales--they also sell out quickly!)

Ceviche is raw fish marinated in lime juice, which "cooks" it. We were told on an earlier visit that tilapia is used at Cuzco Chicken Run. When we were in Costa Rica and Panama, sea bass was used for this excellent dish.

The fish is cut into small pieces, and Villa garnishes it with a purple, lacy seaweed; crunchy cancha, a type of corn that tasted a little like popcorn; onions; and cilantro.

On the plate were colorful and unusual additions: a wedge of sweet potato, a slice of white potato and a 3-inch-high piece of Peruvian corn on the cob. The fan-shaped kernels were about the size of sweater buttons. They taste different from familiar American varieties of corn--more like hominy.

CUZCO CHICKEN RUN Address: 3341 Fall Hill Ave., just east of I-95. It is in a small shopping center at the top of the hill. Phone: 540/370-4333 Hours: Sunday-Thursday, 10 a.m.-10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m.-11 p.m. Prices: Side orders--$1.50-$2 Sandwiches--$5.25-$5.75 Dinners--$3.95-$19.95 Desserts--$1.95-$3 Atmosphere: The tiny restaurant is simply decorated with Peruvian pictures and art, with the emphasis on food rather than decor. Most customers order takeout, but four tables are available for those who prefer to eat in. Payment: Major credit cards accepted.

Date published: 9/22/2005