LoMo SALTADo El Chalan Restaurant Peruvian and Italian Cuisine In my experience, it is uncommon to find a restaurant that specializes in two very different types of cuisine from not only different countries, but also different continents. Therefore, I was intrigued when I learned that El Chalan Restaurant offers both Peruvian and Italian food. So when I met co-owner, Xiomara Martinez, the first question I asked was “Why Peruvian and Italian? When Xiomara’s husband and restaurant co-owner, Aquiles Puga, first immigrated to the United States from Peru in 1992, he worked for twelve years at an Italian restaurant in Berkeley which has since closed. During his employment there, he learned much about the art of Italian cooking. In Peru, he had also worked in the restaurant business and had learned to prepare many of the traditional foods of his country. So when he and Xiomara opened El Chalan restaurant thirteen years ago, they decided to offer both Peruvian and Italian cuisine on their menu. Although the menu features more Peruvian selections, there are sixteen Italian entrees offered at El Chalan (including Aquiles' hand-made gnocchi), as well as a limited selection of Italian salads, Italian beverages, and even home-made Tiramisu! The Peruvian selections tend to be more popular since most of El Chalan’s regular clientele is Latino; more of their American customers tend to favor the Italian cuisine. Located on busy San Pablo Dam Road on the right side of the street when driving toward Appian Way, El Chalan occupies the previous establishment once known as El Tumi Restaurant. The exterior signage atop the building directs customers to a small parking lot adjacent to the building. When entering El Chalan, the atmosphere seems “homey” and a bit rustic. There are twelve to fifteen tables in the dining area, where the pale orange, melon-color walls are adorned with pictures of cowboys and their horses, (as “El Chalan” means “The restaurant review 3748 SAn PABLo DAM RoAD In EL SoBRAnTE | (510) 222-0607 | by vickie lewis
Contra Costa Marketplace - Mar 2015
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