NVM Review

By Warren Rojas

It would appear Pollos Inka founder Jorge Pedemonte has rotisserie chicken in his blood.

The Peruvian expat claims his family has tended to spice-rubbed birds for over half a century in South America. And he’s been the keeper of the wood-fired flame at his patriotically dubbed Herndon eatery since 1991.

But after closing on nearly 20 years in business, Pedemonte insists they still do things the old-fashioned way.

He says they marinate every one of the nearly 1,000 birds they hawk per week for approximately 24 hours in a homemade mojo consisting of, among other things, fresh garlic and vinegar.

The flavor-sealed birds are then cooked over all-natural lump charcoal in a rotisserie lugged all the way up from Peru (Pedemonte is a strong believer in tradition).

The resulting bird arrives scorched in places and caked with their proprietary rub (we picked up on salt, pepper and oregano). The uniformly juicy meat is impregnated with a smokiness that teeters between mildly sweet and seriously woody (a complex signature worth savoring).

A slew of house sauces vie for your attention here, including: a generic Italian (tangy, herby), a jalapeno-based scorcher (creamier than expected) and the blood-boiling rocoto-habanero blend (pepper-packed medley delivers immediate heat, smoky undertones and a lingering burn).

Stalks of fried yucca arrive pleasantly tanned and well crisped.

Formidable alfajor produces flaky cookies (doughier than most, with an almost cakey consistency) covered in powdered sugar, only to falter due to dried-out dulce de leche (que pena).