Urubamba in Jackson Heights catches Serious Eats' Date Night eye

Image source: Serious Eats – arroz con camarones

Last month we were happy to see the Serious Eats Date Night writers enjoy Ridgewood’s Gottscheer Hall, and this month they hit Urubamba, a lovely Peruvian restaurant in Jackson Heights. They found some of the food puzzling, especially the appetizer of choclo peruano con queso ($7.75). Choclo is the Peruvian word for corn, but you’ll encounter choclo throughout Jackson Heights, often at other Peruvian restaurants, and also at any Ecuadoran restaurants and street carts in the neighborhood. Urubamba served a yellow version, but white choclo is also very common. And yes, it is quite starchy, and sometimes a bit chewy. The queso part of the dish was a mild white cheese, and the whole thing came with a dipping sauce (sounds like a peanut sauce).

They also tried a less than stellar steak and then a delicious pot of arroz con camarones ($15) – rice with shrimp cooked with butter, garlic, and parsley. Yum.

We were pleased to see that they enjoyed their glasses of chicha morada (a half pitcher for $6.75), a fruity drink made from purple corn. Urubamba’s is one of the best in the neighborhood. When we ate there last, a fellow diner told us that this drink is very healthy and good for blood pressure. It comes with little bits of sour apple, which is a lovely touch.

Apart from the food, the interior is quite nice, and has a sort of west coast feel to it (the Serious Eats folks likened it to an Andean ski lodge, appropriate during winter; when we were there last spring, it felt like we were in Santa Barbara).

So glad you enjoyed Urubamba, Serious Eats!

Date Night: Urubamba, Peruvian Cuisine in Jackson Heights [Serious Eats]