Peru Cafe Express

With only a handful of tiny tables, this ultra-casual takeout joint in a Greenway Plaza strip mall, next to a clothes consignment store, is packed at lunchtime. But reasonable prices and consistently good food help regulars to overlook this. If you’re not familiar with the simplicity of Peruvian cooking, just refer to the menu pictures. Anticuchos, skewers of marinated grilled beef heart, date back hundreds of years. Served with oversized cooked Peruvian corn, it remains popular with Peruvian patrons, along with the chicken or beef empanadas, hefty chicken or pork tamales served with red onions and the papas rellenas, fried potatoes stuffed with ground beef, raisins and sautéed onions. Peru also is noted for its well-crafted seafood ceviches, and Peru Cafe Express easily whips up several satisfying combinations that make ideal light lunches or dinner appetizers.