Venue Review: Lucky Chicken

A succulent tour through the flavors of Peru

By Greg Cox
Triangle.com

Nestled among the tidy storefronts of historic downtown Clayton, Lucky Chicken's green and yellow striped awning stands out like a volunteer daisy in a well-tended garden. Flanking the awning are the flags of Peru and the United States - the one signaling the cuisine that Lucky Chicken serves, and the other issuing an "all are welcome, you don't have to speak Spanish to eat here" invitation. The restaurant's jaunty English name reinforces that invitation and hints that the specialty is pollo a la brasa, Peruvian-style roast chicken.

And what gloriously delicious chicken it is. Marinated for 24 hours in a blend that includes vinegar, garlic, black pepper and a Peruvian herb called chincho, the chicken is then slow-roasted over charcoal flames according to what the menu describes as a "secret recipe handed down from the Incas." More recently, that secret was in the hands of Bides Ortiz, owner of a restaurant in northern Peru, whose cooking has garnered praise from Gastón Acurio, the Peruvian equivalent of Emeril Lagasse. Ortiz passed the recipe down to his daughter, Betty Ortiz, and her husband, Juan La Torre, who opened Lucky Chicken a year and a half ago.

The recipe may be ancient, but it's eminently well-suited to the modern palate. Even the breast meat is succulent under a mahogany-colored skin whose complex, subtly smoky flavor would surely prove irresistible to the most dedicated dieter. The chicken (available as a whole bird, a half or a quarter) is served with the traditional accompaniments of french fries, salad and two dipping sauces: a spicy green emulsion of huacatay (another Peruvian herb) and aji amarillo chiles, and a creamy blend of homemade mayonnaise and mustard. The sauces are intended for the chicken, but for those of us who find the bird thoroughly satisfying in it own right, they make a fine dip for the fries.

Made to order

Recipes aren't the only thing the restaurant's owners brought with them from Peru. In the interest of flavor and authenticity, they import many of the herbs and spices from their native country. That includes the fiery red rocoto chiles that punctuate Lucky Chicken's excellent Peruvian seviche.

Because the seviche is made to order (they don't even squeeze the limes until you place the order), the spice level can be adjusted to taste. And because the seafood is allowed to "cook" in the marinade for only 10 minutes or so before it's brought to your table, the texture is closer to sashimi than Mexican seviche. Lucky Chicken offers five variations on the theme, including shrimp, octopus and the supple, irreproachably fresh flounder that ranks right up there with the roast chicken among memorable dishes I've enjoyed recently.

If seviche and pollo a la brasa are the highlights of Lucky Chicken's menu, they're hardly the only rewarding options on a menu that offers a broad sampling of the Peruvian repertoire. Lomo saltado, the classic dish featuring a sautéed medley of beef, onions and tomatoes served over french fries, is solidly executed. So is chaufa, a Peruvian twist on Cantonese fried rice, with variations including beef, chicken, shrimp or a combination.

Get the 'cheese fries'

Ask Betty Ortiz (she's the friendly hostess, server and sometime kitchen assistant to her husband in this mom and pop operation) for an appetizer suggestion, and she'll rave about choclo peruano con queso, which pairs Peruvian corn on the cob with wedges of a mild white cheese. I suspect the corn - whose kernels are much larger than American corn and are far less sweet with a dense, bready texture - is an acquired taste. Then again, I have a similar affinity for grits dating to my own childhood, so who am I to judge?

Still, I'd prefer to whet my appetite with Yuca al a Huanaina, which serves up crisp, golden yuca fries blanketed with a creamy yellow chile sauce in a dish evocative of good old American cheese fries.

Lucky Chicken is a tiny jewel box of a restaurant, with colorful woven alpaca hats and the obligatory poster of Machu Picchu creating a modest but cheerily inviting setting. There are only four tables, plus three more that are available in an even tinier back room when the crowd swells to more than 18. Reservations are accepted only for large parties, and because most everything is cooked to order, you can't count on a fast turnover.

In short, the drive from Raleigh is something of a gamble, especially on weekend nights. Even so, it's worth a roll of the dice. If all else fails, you can always get a takeout order of roast chicken.