By Suzanne Parker
There are four Pio Pio restaurants in the New York metropolitan area. I had been to the Rego Park branch, which is mainly a utilitarian take-out place with a few tables for eating on. Friends had recommended the Jackson Heights branch as being much nicer, so I thought I would give it a try. While the menu is the same, the atmosphere is strikingly different. Pio Pio in Jackson Heights, more than twice the size of its Rego Park counterpart, is lively and bustling with much more attention paid to decor. Its walls are decorated by an artist that could be a Hispanic Peter Max, conjuring fanciful creatures from a Latino “Yellow Submarine.” Guessing, by the name of the restaurant's parent company, the Mochica Group, the decor is a playful nod to colorful aesthetic the Mochica culture, a Quechan society which first developed on the northern coast of Peru at around 1 C.E. Its name was taken from the site of Moche located in the valley of the Moche River and is most widely known for its extraordinary pottery and the royal tomb at Sipan.Our visit to Pio Pio happened to coincide with its regular Wednesday night feature of live music. In keeping with its visual theme, the music was by a group playing more or less traditional (albeit electrified) Andean music on guitar, percussion, flute and panpipes. The music theoretically begins at 9 p.m., but chances of securing a table are iffy unless you arrive well in advance or reserve. The scene, at least on Wednesdays, is noisy, crowded, and the service a little chaotic. It's more clubbish than restaurant-y if you choose a Wednesday.Pio Pio has a full bar, and, along with the usual alcoholic offerings, serves terrific Pisco sours, the national cocktail of Peru, made from Pisco, a Peruvian brandy. They also serve pitchers of Peruvian-style sangria with little cubes of apple in it, and Peruvian beer. You can't find this stuff everywhere, so if you drink, you might as well go native.So how was the food? We began with the cebiche lime–o – seafood marinated in lime juice. We were asked our preference regarding spiciness. We indicated that we liked spicy, but the cebiche, only mildly spicy, needed additional heat, readily supplied by the creamy green hot sauce on the table. The cebiche was a combination of fish and seafood generously laced with red onion. The bountiful portion would make an adequate appetizer for two to four diners.The entrees are limited to Chicken Pio and Jalea (fried seafood). I had tried Pio Pio's chicken before at the Rego Park location, but wanted to sample the spectrum of its sides and the Jalea. In order to cover all bases we ordered a Matador Combo, which included the signature chicken and most of their sides, and a Jalea. Though forewarned by our waiter, we persisted with our order. The amount of food that arrived at our table looked like it could feed the entire restaurant. I mention this, because if you and your dining companion don't have similar tastes, or simply don't want to be served family style, this could be a problem. There is no individual size seafood platter, and ordering a half or quarter chicken with all the sides on the Matador combo would be more expensive than ordering the combo. Maybe there is a cultural bias in favor of family style dining. Getting back to the food, the rotisserie chicken was plump and juicy, with a piquancy that no doubt was the result of the flavorful Peruvian marinade. The most interesting of the sides was the “salchipapas,” a traditional Peruvian street food of French fries mingled with slices of frankfurters, was beguiling in that irresistible fast/junk food way. The rice and beans were pleasingly savory. The avocado salad was more than generous with the avocado, but otherwise unexciting. The maduros (deep fried plantain slices), served with salsa verde, were greasy, and tasted like they had been reheated, rather than prepared to order. Finally, the jalea was daunting in size. It was a prodigious mound of battered, fried fish, calamari, and, to a lesser degree, shrimp, interspersed with a generous amount of red onion. For a lover of the deep fried of the deep sea, with no caloric concerns, this is an adequately well-prepared dish, but the chicken is the more rewarding choice in terms of tasty and healthy eating options. We tried two desserts: Helado (Peruvian ice cream) and flan. Both were pleasant but neither was memorable. The Bottom LinePio Pio is an attractive and lively destination for Peruvian rotisserie chicken and ethnic sides, and Peruvian bar drinks. Go on a Wednesday for live music with hustle and bustle. Choose a different day if you prefer a less hectic atmosphere.Pio Pio84-13 Northern Blvd.Jackson Heights718 426-1010Cuisine: Peruvian chickenSetting: Latino Yellow SubmarineService: Friendly and accommodating, somewhat chaotic when busyHours: Lunch and dinner, seven daysReservations: Recommended for WednesdaysAlcohol: Full barParking: StreetDress: CasualChildren: WelcomeMusic: Live music 9 p.m. WednesdaysTakeout: YesCredit cards: YesNoise level: NoisyHandicap accessible: Small restrooms may not accommodate wheel chairRecommended Dishes:Cebiche lime–oÉ$10 Chicken pioÉWhole $10/Half $4/Quarter$3Peruvian combo (includes chicken, large fries, and avocado salad)É$20Matador combo (includes chicken, rice and beans, avocado salad, salchipapas & tostones)É$26SalchipapasÉ$4Red beansÉ$3
