At OnMilwaukee, we believe in lifting up all voices and using our platform to support others’ dreams.  And that's what we hope to do for Dominic the Food Reviewer. When I first met Dominic almost two years ago, I was impressed by his passion, his curiosity and his interest in improving his writing. Over time,  I’ve not only enjoyed getting to know him better, but he has taught me as much as I have him. My hope is that you’ll not only enjoy reading Dominic’s reviews, but also glean understanding and joy from seeing the world of food through his eyes. -- Lori Fredrich, Dining Editor

This weekend, I checked out Triciclo Peru, 3801 W. Vliet St. The restaurant also offers a portion of their menu at Crossroads Collective on Farwell Avenue, as well as on food trucks  at Third Space Brewing on West St. Paul Avenue and at The Vine on Howell Avenue.

X

I had the honor to meet owners, Mario Diaz Herrera and Amy Narr while I was exploring the local Peruvian restaurant. Mario mentioned that they wanted to bring the Peruvian culture to the city of Milwaukee. He wanted to improve the neighborhood where their restaurant is located, so they are trying to bring more customers and residents together in this part of the local community. He also told me that they have a food truck for their Peruvian business which they started in 2018. Triciclo is a Spanish word for tricycle, and is pronounced tree-see-kloh. Tricycles are a main mode of transportation for street vendors in South America. He used to work in advertising in Lima. Lima is the capital and biggest city in the country of Peru. The owner came here five years ago with his friend Amy who is from here. Mario said he has a passion to share Peruvian culture with the people of Wisconsin. 

The restaurant's ambiance has a bright, colorful and positive vibe and feels warm and welcoming. It is super beautifully remodeled inside.

X

Mario mentioned that all the tables are hand painted. Those hand painted tables are very colorful and they represent the colors of Peru. They have Peruvian themed art on the walls inside the restaurant. Across the street from Triciclo Peru, there are picnic tables where you can have a Peruvian picnic and enjoy some of their delectable food. They serve pisco which is Peruvian brandy, and Peruvian beers. It is so authentic in here, and it really makes you feel like you are in Peru.  

Mario said that he enjoys authentic foods out there in the food world. He invited me to try their Inca Kola while I was there. My Inca Kola had a slight sweetness to it, and the flavors of it kind of reminded me of cream soda and kind of a bubblegum flavor.

X

The second drink I sampled was their chicha morada made with purple corn, cinnamon, clove, pineapple and lime. That drink had a nice citrus flavor and it was super refreshing for a beautiful day outside. 

X

All their empanadas are freshly baked at the Peruvian restaurant. They are made from scratch and all authentic. For my appetizers, I tried their yuca fritas with spicy chimichurri and huancaina cheese sauce.

X

The cassava root had a nice slight banana flavor to it and they kind of reminded me of the shape of steak fries. They tasted very high quality and they had a very mild flavor. I was dipping my yuca fritas into that succulent chimichurri sauce like their was no tomorrow! 

I gave their anticuchos, marinated beef heart skewers, a try. They came with yuca fritas served with chimichurri and rocoto sauce. They are similar to shiskabobs on a stick.

X

That marinated beef was nicely grilled and it was super well cooked with grilled marks in the middle. That is the way I enjoy my marinated beef. The rocoto sauce that came with marinated beef had a nice creaminess to it. Those skewers were presented super well, and I ate a ton of the marinated beef because it was super scrumptious. 

Their leche de tigre de aji amarillo is a street style ceviche which came with ingredients including swai, fried calamari, fried shrimp and fried plantains. What I enjoyed about it, was that it had a nice twist to it and it came in a ginormous glass cup with the fried calamari and shrimp on top.

X

Their fried calamari and shrimp had a nice thin coating of breading and a ton of flavor. It tasted very fresh. Their ceviche tasted very bright, and it was very spicy which I am such a humungous fan of. The ceviche just melted right into my mouth and it had such a great taste to it. 

X

For my main course, I tried tried he aji de gallina empanada, which had ingredients such as shredded chicken, yellow pepper and parmesan. Their shredded chicken was nice and juicy and the yellow peppers were very sweet which made the empanada have a lot of character to it. I would say the empanadas had a nice texture and they were huge baked empanadas which were very well cooked.

X

My next empanada that I tried, was the seco empanada which had steak, cilantro sauce, carrots peas and potatoes. The potatoes that were mixed with the peas and potatoes had a soft texture and that steak inside the empanada made the whole entire empanada come alive. I ate all those empanadas up. I felt like I was in heaven. Now I am such a big fan of these kinds of empanadas because they were to die for. 

I would highly suggest trying this Peruvian restaurant because I could not stop eating all their amazing food. I want to give a shout out to owner Mario, our waitress Mikayla, and Amy because they were super friendly and welcoming.

X

I thought Mario explained all the different selections of Peruvian cuisine very well and he explained how he was going to expand his business. Mikayla, Mario and Amy rock, and they really nailed it with their food.  This restaurant is on my absolutely must try list.  It was exceptionally good.