Fireworks On The Hudson Reminders
Palin Couldn't Go The Hillary Clinton Route
Fireworks Dazzle Over The Hudson River
Two-Alarm Fire On Wythe Avenue In Williamsburg
Steve McNair Slain Inside Tennesee Apartment
[Ed. note: We'd like to welcome Robyn Lee, who wrote for Parisist while she was there and who you may also know as The Girl Who Ate Everything. She'll be taking over Camera in the Kitchen for a bit.]
The onomatopoeic name for the Upper West Side's newest Peruvian restaurant, Pio Pio Salon, comes from the Spanish word for the sound of a chicken's chirp. We thought this sound was rather cute until we wondered what its last distressed pio-s were before turning into the deliciously moist rotisserie chicken on my plate during dinner last Friday night. And then we stuck a forkful of the chicken in my mouth and all previous thoughts of concern were replaced with, "Mm, mildly spicy, tender chicken meat sponge bursting with chicken-y juice, we love you."
The accompanying plate of salchipapa, sliced hot dog heaped upon a bed of French fries, also did some magic to our taste buds along the lines of, "This Is Really Addictive and We Do Not Know Why". The hot dog didn't do much for us, particularly because we have an aversion to most sausage matter, but the thick, lightly crispy fries with moist, mealy innards were inexplicably great. Maybe they picked up flavorful meat essence from the hot dog garnish?
Tostones, fried flattened plaintain slices, would have been a bit bland without the accompanying sauce made with garlic, lime juice, and oil. As soon as someone tells us the real name, we will stop referring to it as "awesome sauce", even though what it does is make everything you dunk in it taste awesome.
Thankfully, there was some raw, fibrous vegetable matter to go with our mainly meat and starch-based meal in case there was any concern about health-giving nutritional content (admittedly, there wasn't). The large avocado salad piled a creamy, thinly sliced avocado and tomato on a colorful mixture of lettuce, red cabbage, radish, cucumber, carrot and onion dressed in a light lime-based sauce.
A whole chicken, salchipapa, tostones, rice and beans, and avocado salad only cost $26 as part of the Matador Combo. For that price, we foolishly expected a lot less -- this combo could easily feed four people while comfortably leaving room for dessert. Between the two of us ding that night, we polished off an impressive amount of our plates, but still had leftovers from every dish and sadly no room for dessert unless we wanted to risk spending a night at the hospital from stomach explosion. We were almost ready to risk it after spying a tempting flan on the table next to us, assuming that if the desserts were as good as everything else we ate, we would probably love it. We'll just have to save it for next time.
Pio Pio Salon is located at 702 Amsterdam Ave (and 94th Street). 212-665-3000
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Yay, you're on Gothamist. I've been following on your food adventures, which are always entertaining.
:)
Stop...you're making me hungry..!
Up until a few weeks ago, this restaurant was known as Sipan. The menu's still simliar, but compare the old menu with the new one and you'll see that when it was Sipan the prices were roughly the same but the food was a lot more interesting. Roast chicken, rice and beans, avocado salad and french fries??????? What a snooze. And for $26????
Did you try any of the ceviches?
Hey Robin,
Contrats on making gothamist! your taking over all the sites i read!
We live a block from Pio Pio here in Jackson Heights, and can testify to its heavenly fare. Nice that we in the boroughs can say we had it first.
An: Thanks for following!
J: I actually feel pretty full after looking at these photos...but then I actually have the memory of eating everything and feeling completely stuffed afterwards.
Spud: I think it's a really good deal for all the food you get. I don't know about most people, but a lot of my favorite foods aren't interesting (dumplings, burgers, gelato); they're just INSANELY TASTY!
I tried the corvina ceviche, actually. Didn't write about it since my description would'e been something like, "MM, RAW FISH CHUNKS DOUSED IN LIME!", but it was very good. Lots and lots of...fish chunks.
Mike: Thanks! Be sure to turn away from your monitor every now and then; I don't want to overburden you. ;)
Harry: It's probably a GOOD thing that I don't live a block away from a Pio Pio or else I would go there too often.
Great article but what were your thoughts on the green sauce? Everyone I know goes insane over it and I've tried replicating it. The waitstaff isn't so helpful in pinpointing its ingredients. Anyone else know?
The green sauce is made from mayo and rocoto peppers. We learned this from the Pio Pio on 1st Ave b/w 90th & 91st. I have never seen a rocoto pepper, but maybe you can find them at South American grocery stores.
finally! appetizing food pictures on gothamist!
Thank you so much, Bettina.. The Pio Pio in Queens told me it was jalapeno peppers but when I tried to make the sauce with them, my boyfriend said it didn't taste quite right. I shall hunt down rocoto peppers.
Andrea: If it's aji sauce, there seem to be many recipes for it, all kind of similar but don't necessarily agree on the same pepper. Among other things. Er. I liked the sauce, but not as much as whatever came with the tostones. I hope you're able to make the sauce yourself!
Bettina: Thanks for the info!
Nick: And there will be more next week. :)
do you know if this place is related to Pio Pio Rico in Greenpoint? Their sauces/dressings are to die for ...
hotdogs on frenchfries?
yeah, real appetizing.
Yay! The Girl who ate everything! Your blog is one of my favorite reads! Love the Gothamist even more now.
I love Pio Pio more than is safe.
cm: I have no idea, sorry!
Matty: Actually...um, yes, it is.
Annix: Thanks!
ConnPossible: What kind of unsafe-ness does your love lead to?
First of all, that 26 dollars feeds about 3 or 4 people. That 26 buys a full chicken, a giant plate of salchipapas(fries and hot dogs), a giant plate of tostones, a giant plate of rice and beans and a giant plate of the avacado salad. If you want an extra whole chicken, they charge a whopping FIVE dollars.
I live near the Pio Pio in Jackson Heights, you should see the place on a saturday night, they have a giant 2 floor main space and a take out eatery two doors down and both have lines out the door.
The chicken is so good because it's marinaded in beer and tamarind and it is the best chicken I've ever had. They have a few locations but are not related to Pio Pio Rico, which is located in greenpoint and it's original location on greenpoint ave. in Sunnyside.
Peruvian chicken is faR superior in queens and cheaper too..i think the garlic sauce is called ajillo...
Hey! Congratulations on this new stint! Will you now be writing here full time instead of your blog? I do visit The Girl Who Ate Everything regularly, especially when we go out to eat to get your reviews on retaurants. Nonetheless, I will try to visit both from time to time. Thank you for this awesome tip! My friends and I are planning a day out in the city on the 17th and I will suggest this place for lunch. At $26, that Matador combo seem a good choice for 3 people. I like the salad and the tostones but I hope they have other choices for vegetarians like me. Any other good vegetarian restaurants you personally like? I could use the headsup. Thanks! Keep writing and keep up the good work! - Teresa from Oakland, NJ
Teresa: I will still be writing my blog, but I'm a few weeks behind on writing about NYC as you may have noticed. :( I'll get back on track soon!
I'm afraid I'm not very familiar with vegetarian restaurants. But I'm sure there are...lots of good ones out there. People keep telling me to try Kate's Joint for unhealthy vegetarian food. I live around a few vegetarian Indian restaurants, the only one I been to being Chennai Garden, which my friends and I enjoyed and became insanely stuffed at.
I was just wondering if anyone knew the names of the owners, of both the previous Sipan and the current Pio Pio, thanks