After combining two amazing ingredients: Cooking in underwear and delicious Peruvian food, model and restaurateur Franco Noriega has become a world sensation. Baby Brasa, his new restaurant in Lower Manhattan, has great food for locals or for those as curious as my team and I, who ventured to 129 Allen Street to get to know the new location–and ended up meeting Mr. Noriega himself. Sadly, he was dressed on the occasion.
The rotisserie is a small place where you can take a tool to sit while you see the chef preparing your food. I didn’t have time to try Inca Cola but enjoy a good glass Mt. Beautiful, a sauvignon blanc from Canterbury, New Zealand. They also serve Cusquena, a beer from Cusco, Peru.
We tried Sanguche de Durazno and Pan con Pollo, both chicken sandwiches, both delicious. If you don’t mind cilantro, Arroz con Choclo is a good choice as a side dish, which consists of white rice and corn.
“Wine me, dine me, 69 me” is a message you’ll find on the wall. For some reason, I wonder if Mr. Noriega created that message himself, as he’s one of the sexiest men I’ve seen on social media. On the Ellen DeGeneres show he was called “the naked chef,” where he wore an apron and probably nothing else. At his restaurant the night I visited, I recognized him wearing a winter hat and jeans. He told me that “Peruvian food wasn’t in style for a long time, and now it’s back.”
Take a look at their menu on the website: http://www.babybrasa.com/menu/
Here’s a short video from the Ellen DeGeneres Show: http://www.babybrasa.com/#eat-together
RESTAURANT REVIEW by Lucas Eller
