Machu Chicken Somerville

I have recently read a lot about Machu Chicken in Somerville. No working website but a wildly inaccurate menu can be found HERE. A half Chicken, all dark meat? Where are they breed, Chernobyl? Write-ups have been, "1/2 Chicken with Fries for under $10", "1/2 Chicken with Fries for about $10", "1/2 Chicken with Fries for about $12". Of course, the reality is different.

What they do and do really really well, is the Peruvian Style Charcoal Roasted Chicken. Chicken are served with a small salad and a choice of French Fries, Rice or Golden or Boiled potatoes. You can order a whole chicken ($20), half a chicken ($12) or a quarter dark ($7.50) white ($8.50). I went with the Chicken Tacu Tacu ($8.00). 1/4 chicken (dark or white meat), served with our traditional Tacu Tacu (seasoned rice & beans). Of course, I ordered it with dark meat. The chicken was outstanding! Moist and flavorful from the 12-hour marinade and smoky from the charcoal grill. The rice and beans were also very good. The salad? Not too exciting but everything was fresh and it had a nice light dressing. You also get two dipping sauces, one spicy and one less spicy. The sauces were very nice and tasty, but the chicken was soo good on its own, that I left the sauces alone.

It's a small space with table service. It was really dark down at the counter area but nice at the window seats. They also have a bigger place, Machu Picchu, that is located just up the street. I must admit that getting to Union Square is an adventure in itself and unless you are familiar with the area, parking can be tricky.