A Peruvian specialty gets pride of place – MACHU PICCHU CHARCOAL CHICKEN & GRILL in Boston From: boston.com

The magic number at Machu Picchu Charcoal Chicken & Grill is 24. That’s how many hours their rotisserie chicken soaks in a secret brew before it’s slid onto a spit and roasted over hot coals to a succulent, smoky-to-the-bone perfection.

Twenty-four is also about the number of seconds that it takes to walk to Rosy and Hugo Cerna’s other restaurant, also dubbed Machu Picchu. Why open a second Peruvian restaurant a tamale’s throw from the first?

“Because we really wanted to serve pollos a la brasa,” says Rosy Cerna about their charcoal chicken. “It’s a national dish in Peru, but you never serve it at a restaurant where you have all the other Peruvian dishes like we have at Machu Picchu. Pollos a la brasa has to have a restaurant of its own.”*

25 Union Square, Somerville. 617-623-7972.
Hours Mon-Thu, 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m.; Fri-Sat, 11:30 a.m.-11 p.m.; Sun, 11 a.m.-10 p.m.

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