Serious chicken
Special chicken at Munay Kitchen Peruvian draws foodies to Dallas suburb
A new Peruvian restaurant in Carrollton is doing an accomplished rendition of a dish that's hard to find: Peruvian-style rotisserie chicken. Called Munay Kitchen Peruvian Rotisserie Chicken & Grill, it's an indie spot at Old Denton and Frankford roads, doing a homey, tender bird with a citrusy marinade that's luring in discriminating fans.
"I've had it in many places, and my bar is pretty high for this," writes one savvy fan. "Munay is a substantial cut above the rest."
The name is a spin on the Munay-Ki rites that are practiced by shamans who live in the Andes in Peru: "Munay" is said to mean "I love you" or "be as you are." Owner Carmen Espinosa opened the restaurant in November 2016 in a former Southern Maid Doughnuts shop, but didn't change the "Donuts" sign out front until recently.
Dallas has other Peruvian restaurants such as Chicho's on Belt Line Road in Addison, and Tineo on Arapaho Road in Richardson. But this is about that chicken. At Munay, you can order it whole, with French fries and a salad for $20, or in a 1/ 4-chicken portion, with option of dark ($7.39) or white ($7.99) meat.
A key element is the sauce. Peruvian chicken comes with aji verde, a green sauce containing cilantro, garlic, and jalapeños that's both tangy and creamy.
Munay also offers a selection of offal, one of its most popular items being the grilled beef heart kebabs marinated in Pervian panca pepper sauce. Anything on a skewer is fun. It also does grilled cow's belly strips, and choncholi, or grilled cow's tripe strips.
Dessert merits its own trip. Picarones are doughnuts made with sweet potatoes served with sweet fig syrup and fig chunks. Torta helada is a fluffy gelatin three-layer cake made with strawberry, pineapple, and orange. There are alfajores, topped with powdered sugar and filled with manjar blanca, a sweet caramel milk.
There are also Peruvian beverages including the soft drink Inca Kola and herb drinks with barley and flax. And there is the doting attentiveness of Espinosa and her small staff.
