Some of the best jewelry boxes don’t look like much from the outside; a simple square in white or black, covered with nice fabric or the traditional fuzzy velvet. The blank exterior heightens the sense of anticipation, of opening it to reveal a bauble set on luxurious shining fabric. Let costume jewelry be sold in gaudy boxes that catch the eye better than what is within.
It would be nice to think that restaurants locate in strip malls due to a similar high-minded philosophy, but that’s not the case – they site there because space is cheap, parking plentiful, and it’s where the customers already are. Still, some strip mall places do go all out in interior decoration so that customers who venture within are rewarded.
The most over-the-top example locally is Pollo Inka, located in the Windmill Plaza at the corner of Aviation and PCH in Hermosa Beach. It’s the usual dull box exterior, though they have cannily put a glass wall on the rotisserie so you can see the flickering flames beneath the roast chickens. Fire has caught human attention and imagination since we lived in caves, so it’s an eye grabber. Once you are inside there is a more contemporary attraction – though the place opened with simple murals, the current wall décor is reminiscent of an Indiana Jones movie, all sculpted massive stones and cryptic reliefs of golden idols. It’s not particularly reminiscent of any actual Peruvian building I saw when I was there, but it’s a fun interior.
Creative décor is nice, but you can’t eat it. Luckily El Pollo Inka satisfies in the food department with a large selection of inexpensive Peruvian food. The most expensive item on the menu, a fried fish filet topped with a vast mound of shrimp, squid, and scallops, is $20, and it feeds two people easily. There are plenty of items that run less than ten bucks, making this restaurant a place of pilgrimage for those who like cheap ethnic eats.
I usually start meals here with a glass of chicha, the Peruvian corn punch, and either papa Huancaina, cold boiled potatoes in a mild cheese sauce, or ceviche. The Peruvians have the most plausible claim to have invented ceviche, the citrus-marinated seafood that is also popular in Mexico, and their delicately peppery mix of lemon, lime, onion, and a touch of chili pepper is tangy and refreshing. Two variations are offered – one just of fish, the other with mixed seafood – and I nearly always get the mix to enjoy the different textures.
The papa Huancaina goes in a different direction flavor-wise, creamy and rich with a bit of green chile pepper and garlic in the velvety sauce. The ancient Incas didn’t use cheese, and it isn’t a big part of modern Andean cuisine, but this adaptation is a fine complement for the potatoes that were the Incas’ gift to the world’s pantry. There is always more sauce than strictly needed for the potatoes, and we usually mop up the excess with bread because it just tastes so good.
Most meals come with a bowl of chicken vegetable soup in a broth spiked with cilantro. I’ve made a meal of the stuff more than once, particularly when I feel a cold coming on – the curative properties of chicken soup transcend cultures. It is quite logical that the soup would be good, since chicken is this restaurant’s middle name. The rotisserie-roasted version is a perennial favorite, skin crisp and flavorful from the marinade, meat always tender. They do a high volume, so it’s always fresh and moist, served with rice, beans, and salad or very good French fries. If you have been getting supermarket chickens to eat at home, try one of these and you will see that there is no comparison between one hot from the spit and one that has been steaming in a plastic package for hours.
Chicken features in other dishes here as well, such as the chicken and vegetable spaghetti and the chicken and green bean stir-fry called vanitas saltado. Peruvian cuisine is very cosmopolitan thanks to waves of immigrants from Europe and Asia, but with markedly different spicing. The vanitas saltado I had at a recent meal was a very un-Chinese stir-fry, just fresh green beans, chicken chunks, onion, and tomato with subtle spices. A Chinese chef would add more soy sauce, bolder flavors, and it might be a fine dish indeed, but the Peruvians leave the flavors to stand on their own with just a bit of embellishment on nature.
This isn’t to say that Peruvians are always timid in their spicing, as proven by the picante de mariscos, seafood in a sauce that packs a powerful wallop. It is slightly reminiscent of an Indian curry in terms of both hotness and in the full herbal undertones that enhance the layers of peppery flavor; I used every particle of my rice to cool things down as I ate it, and finished with a sweating forehead and a happy, burning tongue. If you don’t like spicy food, don’t order this, but if you do, it is a must.
Finally, that most expensive item on the menu, the big heap o’seafood? It’s called jalea, and you can order it as a meal for two or an appetizer for at least four. It’s not complex, just a giant pile of breaded and fried stuff that came out of the ocean, with a layer of pungent pickled onions on top and cornnuts tossed in (and I’ll bet you didn’t know cornnuts were a traditional food, but they are.) Jalea is like the seafood baskets you get at waterfront restaurants with just a bit of an exotic twist, and it’s served with a tasty green garlic and cilantro dipping sauce that beats the traditional tartar sauce.
There are many other dishes available, dishes that include seafood stews, beef, and lamb, plus traditional desserts and cheesecakes. I’ve never had a bad meal here, and my enjoyment is greater for dining amid the whimsical, kitschy décor that is more Hollywood than Cuzco.
El Pollo Inka is at 1100 Pacific Coast Highway in Hermosa Beach. Open daily for lunch and dinner, beer and wine served. Large parking lot, wheelchair access good, children welcome, no corkage. (310) 372-1433. ER
