NVM Review

By Warren Rojas

What should a pollo a la brasa specialist do when word of his bird spreads beyond the Beltway?

Expand, of course.

Hence the reason Crisp & Juicy founder Jorge Perez—who put down roots in Northern Virginia over 20-odd years ago—has worked so hard to cobble together a burgeoning network of quick-service chicken joints (staff say they currently operate eight stores across the Metro-D.C. area).

According to a Crisp & Juicy manager, Perez’s immediate family are the only ones privy to the recipe for the secret rub they apply to each bird mere moments before they go on the spit.

Finished birds are most often golden brown, with trace bits of blackened herbs still peeking out from the well-lubricated skin (C&J consistently turned out perhaps the oiliest birds of the bunch, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing).

I was most surprised to find that the infused spices almost seemed secondary, allowing the simple pleasures of unblemished chicken to reign supreme instead.

Of course, those who prefer some pizzazz with their poultry are likely to enjoy the steady burn of the homemade rocoto sauce, a blaze-orange fire starter powered by pureed Peruvian peppers.

Fried yucca delivers plenty of crisp, but is too often sidelined by lingering dryness.

Alfajores are rolled in shredded coconut, adding another agent of chewiness to the pillowy biscuit and teeth-binding dulce de leche at the heart of the dessert sandwich.