City Kitchen’s owner-operators Hoa “Summer” Le and Nick Yakubisin have cooked up something new in the East Liberty food hall: a Peruvian fusion pop-up that opens on May 15.
Pisco and Lime will feature savory, citrusy dishes. Joel Johnson, City Kitchen’s director of marketing, says the starting menu is relatively traditional Peruvian fare, but the “fusion” label leaves space to get creative as the kitchen develops.
“Fusion is kind of redundant in that [Peruvian cuisine] has a lot of Chinese influence, like a Chinese chef came and tried to re-create their dishes in central South America,” Johnson says.
Le has committed to four menu items for the launch: Chicken Empanadas; Ceviche, a dish composed of diced citrus-cured seafood and vegetables served with chips; Aji Gallina, a creamy chicken stew of sorts served over rice; and Lomo Saltado, a Peruvian stir-fry with fries.
With their tart fruit flavors, many of the dishes lend themselves well to spring and summer, Yakubisin says.
Lomo Saltado might be the most familiar dish — it’s sauteed thin-cut ribeye, veggies and rice reminiscent of American Chinese food. While it has similar soy umami flavors, the sweetness common in some Chinese sauces is replaced by the acidity of stir-fried tomatoes and vinegar.
Aji Gallina made itself a fast favorite of mine. The dish is relatively simple in comparison to the rest of the menu: tender shredded chicken in a creamy aji amarillo sauce served over rice. The aji peppers’ slight spice and earthier fragrance make it reminiscent of a curry, but the peppers’ fruitiness — and the squeeze of lime on top — make it distinctly something else.
The Chicken Empanadas are Pisco and Lime’s showstoppers. The crust is flakey but still chewy — never crumbling away on you like so many last bites of Grandma’s apple pie. The savory chicken and onion filling stands alone well enough, but the pickled red onion, aji amarillo and aji verde — yellow chili and green chili, respectively — sauces served on the side add awesome pops of acid and citrus to the creamy and carby turnovers.
Le wasn’t ready to let the Ceviche out from her culinary thumb when I visited to taste the menu. Johnson says that, like many chefs, she’s not ready to let something leave her kitchen until she knows it’s perfect.
“We’re still making sure the dishes can come out as good at scale as they do individually,” Johnson says.
Like past pop-ups, Pisco and Lime will stick around for about two months, its menu expanding all the while. If the concept resonates with diners, it may stick around longer, or some dishes might find permanent spots on one of four other kitchens’ menus, Johnson says.
Ahead of the May launch, some dishes will pop up on the other City Kitchen menus. That’s right, there’s an empanada waiting just for you. Don’t walk — run!
