Peru: Lunch at Coco Roco via Cobble Hill, Brooklyn

Coco Roco Peruvian Restaurant in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn  

Subway: Bergen St. stop

Location: 139 Smith Street, Brooklyn NY 11201 (718) 254-9933

Our dear friend, Mr. Brooklyn, decided to have a birthday today (well, his parents decided that for him some time ago) and we’re taking him to Peru for lunch! Via the F train, of course.

Short: Maybe we can have a Machu Picchu picnic!

Bald: It doesn’t agree with me. Last time I had too Machu Picchu!

Short: Sometimes, you’re too Machu.

Bald: Don’t you mean too macho?

Short: No.

Situated in north-western South America, Peru is bordered by 5 countries including Chile, Brazil and Ecuador, and by the Pacific Ocean. It once boasted one of the world’s oldest civilizations, the Norte Chico, and later, the Incas. In the 1500’s, the Spanish invaded, and they weren’t officially kicked out until the 1820’s when Peru gained its independence.

Bald: So once again, we’re experiencing that layering of flavors and ingredients that occurs when an existing culture has another superimposed on top of it.

Short: And then brings it to Brooklyn! Smith Street, Cobble Hill, that is.

As you’ll see, the decor at Coco Roco is really first class. There’s this great, breezy bar at the front, which opens out onto busy, restaurant-lined Smith Street.

Short: Over the last few years, Smith Street has exploded with restaurants. It now rivals Park Slope as Brooklyn’s restaurant row with lots of variety.

Bald: It’s a bit like Manhattan’s East Village. Smith Street also seems to be the French center of Brooklyn. We’ll show you some of the great French restaurants there soon.

Short: Don’t you love these beautiful masks, Bald? You’d look good in one of those.

Bald: Those are masks? I thought it was a mirror.

Clay masks like these date back to 1200 BC when they were used to cover the faces of the dead. They later made them out of copper and gold.

As we said, the decor here is really very stylish. These tastefully lit photos are inlaid in the wall and depict scenes of traditional Peruvian life and culture.

And how about those beautiful colored glass doors leading out onto the back patio! It was a gorgeous late-summer afternoon, too, so we decided to eat outside while we still can.

Bald: I’m not a big fan of New York winters.

Short: He used to like winter when his name was “Hair”, but now that he’s changed his name to “Bald”…

Colorful umbrellas, shady trees, good company, breezy warm weather, what more could you want?

Short & Bald & Mr. Brooklyn: Alcohol!!!!!!

There’s an extensive cocktail menu at Coco Roco, and Short and Mr. Brooklyn opted for the drink on the right, the Watermelon Mojito ($7). It’s made of Brugal dark rum, mint, brown sugar, and, of course, watermelon.

Short: It was minty, and sweet and apparently, there was alcohol in it…! Lots of it!

Bald decided to be brave and ordered what was described as Peru’s most traditional cocktail, the Pisco Sour ($8). It’s made of Pisco (a white rum a bit like Bacardi), lime juice and egg whites served with a dash of cinnamon.

Bald: The idea of drinking raw egg whites…kind of puts me off. But, I actually enjoyed it. There was PLENTY of alcohol to break down the eggy flavor, and those beaten whites did give the drink a light, fluffy, almost creamy texture, which was unusual. I ended up ordering two. Or was it three?

All that lime and mint in Short’s drink made it a refreshing start to the meal on a warm day.

Short: And check out the sprinkling of cinnamon of Bald’s eggy, frothy top.

Bald: My eggy, frothy top? Oh, you mean my drink!

Now, time for the food. The menu at Coco Roco is extensive and it all looks very authentically South American.

For our Entradas (Appetizers) we wanted to order the Chicharron de Cerde (roasted crispy pork with mint and salsa criolla served with yam chips – which sounds fantastic, don’t you think?) but unfortunately, they were “out of it.”

So, instead we ordered Chicharron de Polla (crispy fried chicken pieces with rocoto marinated in lime soy sauce) $7.00.

Good sized portions, but, unfortunately, this was the first of a series of disappointments here. The chicken was a bit oily, and lacking in any distinct flavor. It was a bit spicy, but not much else. The dressing was also oily and bland.

You know those meals where you’re expecting something wonderful, and it arrives looking wonderful, and then…

Short: We really wanted to enjoy this. The restaurant is so tastefully designed, and it’s a really pleasant place to sit and enjoy a meal, but…

Bald: And it’s Mr. Brooklyn’s birthday and all…

Mr. Brooklyn: Don’t mind me. Let’s just have another drink – as they say in comedy, the more you drink, the funnier the comedians get. Maybe the more we drink, the better the food will taste!

For our second appetizer, we chose ‘Chicharron De Calamar’ – fried squid, yuca frita and jalapeno mayonnaise ($9).

Once again, looks good. Sounds good. But it’s oily and bland.

Mr. Brooklyn: Drink up!

Nice presentation and all, but calamari should be light, fresh and not oily. And the sauce shouldn’t be heavy and oily either.

Mr. Brooklyn: More drinks?

Any way you look at it… still all the same problems.

Short: Maybe we just happened to choose their two worst appetizers…

Bald: Maybe my hair will grow back if I rub it on my head?

Mr. Brooklyn: Another round, anyone?

This is Mr. Brooklyn’s main course. It’s grilled skirt steak with rice and beans, maduros or yuca and a house salad for $7.50.

Mr. Brooklyn thought the steak was a bit dry and perhaps overcooked. Even he was losing faith in his alcohol/food flavor theory by now.

Bald: I snuck a small bite of this steak, and I actually thought it was quite tasty, but I’m not that particular when it comes to red meat. I used to be a Neanderthal.

The green sauce wasn’t very interesting, and the combination of crisp lettuce covered in a thick dressing right next to fried banana seemed a bit odd.

The highlight of this dish was the fried maduros. It’s like a plantain, which is like a banana. Maduros/plantain/banana – it was delicious! Sweet and slightly oily but in a good, sweet, syrupy way.

For his main course, Bald ordered Lomo Saltada: sauteed beef with onions, peppers, tomatoes and cilantro served with rice and beans.

Bald: I have to say, I quite enjoyed this.

The combination of ingredients and textures worked better here. Rice, black beans and savory beef makes a lot more sense than the dish above.

Bald: The beef was flavorsome and pleasantly spicy with welcome slices of onion and pepper throughout.

Bald: The beans weren’t too salty, and it all worked well with the rice. The only off-note were those soggy, deep fried potato fries mixed in with it all. I don’t know if it’s a feature of Peruvian cooking generally, or just this particular restaurant, but there seems to be a bit too much oil thrown about here.

Short loves any spicy seafood dish with rice, like paella, gumbo or seafood jambalaya. So she was really hanging out for this dish. Paella Coco Roco ($7.50), Peruvian Paella with chorizo, mixed seafood, aji amarillo and saffron flavors. Over to you, Short?

Short: Boooo-hoooo! It must just be an off day for the chef…

Bald: What’s the verdict?

Short: It’s dry. There’s not a lot of rich flavor here. It tastes like it was cooked in a hurry, rather than slowly and carefully. Chewy calamari, dry mussels, tough octopus…

Bald: But apart from that, how did you enjoy the show, Mrs. Lincoln?

There’s plenty of seafood in there, including octopus and mussels, but the flavors aren’t distinct. It’s all kind of one, general seafoody mix…

Short: That octopus isn’t the only sucker here. I feel a bit disappointed, to be honest.

Still, it is a lovely spot to sit and enjoy a drink. Perhaps the chef was having an off day… Perhaps if we’d ordered something from the regular menu rather than the lunch specials it might have been better – after all, 7 –9 bucks for a main course is pretty damn good. But then again…

Anyway, we’re outside on a beautiful, summery day and we’re all feeling nicely buzzed!

Short & Bald: Happy Birthday, Mister Brook-lyn!

Nothing makes the world seem brighter than ice-cream. Just down Smith Street from Coco Roco is Uncle Louie G’s ice cream shop.

Bald: Uncle Louie G is a mobster who throws ice cream at people instead of shooting them. He’s not very successful – his enemies line up with their kids to insult him.

Short: Look on the wall there. Uncle Louie G has 5 gadzillion flavors. And I only have 3 lifetimes!

Here’s the birthday boy, Mr. Brooklyn, enjoying his Snickers flavored ice-cream.

Mr. Brooklyn: It’s melting! Quick! Gotta eat it! Stain on shirt! Bad! Eat ice-cream in one mouthful!

Bald: Mr. Brooklyn is quite the man about town. He takes great pride in looking his best.

Short: Bald, on the other hand, is a walking stain magnet. If a butterfly sneezes in Tibet, the butterfly mucus will end up on Bald’s shirt.

Bald: Thanks, love. Just lucky that elephants don’t sneeze. Agghhhh! What’s that on my arm?!!!

This isn’t anything to do with elephants or butterflies. It’s mint chip ice-cream. Bald’s favorite, and he’s convinced Short to share one too. Ahhhh, summer… Only a few more weeks and there’ll be no more ice-cream – outside.

OUR OVERALL OPINION OF COCO ROCO:

1. Absolutely beautiful decor and setting. Outdoor patio is relaxing and inviting in the summer.

2. Prices are very reasonable and the service is fairly good.

3. There’s an extensive and reasonably priced cocktail menu.

4. The food seems authentic, but it’s generally hit and miss. Too much oil, too little flavor and not enough care taken over the preparation. The wider menu may be better than the lunch specials, but, unfortunately, we can’t recommend Coco Roco based on their lunch specials.

Hope you enjoyed the ride, at least. It’s a big, wonderful, unpredictable world out there, and who would have it any other way! More adventures ahead, so get your metrocard-passport and meet us at the departure lounge!