NoonEats: Polla a la Brasa at Kiara

Home to Andean mountains that tower 20,000 feet over surrounding valleys and a stretch of Pacific coastline, Peru is a land of geographic and culinary diversity. Several varieties of corn, tomatoes, potatoes and sweet potatoes have roots in this South American country, as does quinoa, the high-protein grain that has become a favorite of health nuts in recent years.

Present-day Peruvian cuisine is influenced by Spain, evident from browsing the menu at Kiara on Morris Avenue. Such dishes as seafood with fried rice, and steak and eggs are reminiscent of the many Iberian restaurants in the area, but some items on the menu, such as mashed potato with chopped fried meat, and corn pie stuffed with pork, are distinctly Peruvian.

All of these unusual menu offerings had my mouth watering, until I walked in for lunch last week and was handed a very limited lunch menu, consisting primarily of roast chicken combos. Fried trout, tamales and ceviche were nowhere to be found, so I stuck with what was offered and ordered a quarter chicken with a side of sweet yellow plantains.

The restaurant was empty at lunchtime. A muted television above the counter showed Spanish programming. With the exception of a whirling window air conditioner, the place was quiet enough for me to hear the beeping of a microwave in the back, presumably warming up my chicken and plantains.

Had the plantains been cooked fresh and the chicken reheated slowly, they would have been more enjoyable. The chicken was well seasoned, with golden, crispy skin, and some of the white breast meat was moist, but some of it had been dried out by the microwave. The plantains, too, were golden on the outside, and soft and sweet, a pleasant change from the usual lunchtime sides of fries or potato chips.

An exotic-sounding Peruvian soda heads the soft drink menu. Disappointingly, this Inca Kola is made by Coca-Cola and contains little more than water, high-fructose corn syrup, caffeine, natural and artificial flavors, and yellow dye.

Mine was not the most enjoyable lunch, but the diverse menu, well-seasoned chicken and sweet plantains tell me this establishment is probably worth trying for dinner, when the food is more fresh and the full menu is available.

As I finished my meal, a woman with a suitcase waiting for an NJ Transit bus walked in and loudly asked if a steak could be prepared for her. The man behind the counter told her it would take several minutes. As he tried to prepare her meal back in the kitchen in time for her to make her bus, she continuously yelled out questions about the size of the steak and made additional requests: She wanted fried onions with her steak, no salt at all, etc.

Part of me felt sorry for the cook as he tried to prepare this ever-evolving order, but part of me found this whole scene a good break from the silence.

I also realized that with a little more boldness and time to spare I, too, could have—and should have—asked for the full menu. But more politely, of course.