Peruvian-style Roasted Chicken

Taking a cue from the local bloggers at Carpe Durham and Eat at Joe's about Mami Nora's Chicken, as well as some friends who visited there recently, we gave it a try today for lunch. The food at Mami Nora was very tasty--exceeded my expectations, actually. The place is super clean, the staff is friendly and nice, and the menu is straightforward. I'll be going back.

I snapped some pictures of my trip for you.

It's located at 302 Davidson Street, near Compare Grocery at Club/Roxboro:

There are more tables than this, but this is the basic set-up. Go to the counter and order, choose a table, and they'll bring the food to you:

Here are the chickens roasting over the wood charcoal. Usually the door is pulled down and closed, but I caught it open and took a pic, at the urging of my lunch companions:

I ordered a quarter chicken (you have your choice of white or dark) and the 2 sides I chose were plaintains and yucca fries. The spices used on the roasted chicken are just about the best I've ever had. The yucca fries and plaintains were fresh and delicious.


The proprietor gave us all complimentary servings of chicken soup as an appetizer to familiarize us with how good it is. It is quite good--the chicken, potatoes, and carrots in it are generous, and the bit of cilantro is fantastic.


The Durham News had a story about Mami Nora's a few weeks ago here if you'd like to read a little more about the restaurant and about the proprietor:

[Ranbir] Bakhshi grew up in Maryland, the son of a Salvadoran mother and an Indian father. The Peruvian connection is his stepfather, and Bakhshi was first exposed to the rotisserie chicken sold on the streets of Peru when he visited family growing up. After graduating from high school, he spent three years in the Army before going to culinary school.

Give it a try!