Pio Pio Salon, New York

Pollo a la brasa is the specialty at this Upper West Side location of Pio Pio Salon, which – despite its name – is actually a quality Peruvian restaurant. The simple eatery makes its trademark chicken dish, a blackened rotisserie-fired chicken served with rice and beans, after marinating the birds in a mixture of cumin, garlic, beer and other spices for twelve hours. The Upper West Side location is one of seven for this New York City chain, and offers an expansive menu of other South American favorites, like ceviche and Peruvian-Chinese fried rice. The dining room is energized thanks to vibrant yellow paint, a dark blue ceiling and small paintings of Peruvian locals on the exposed brick wall.