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With exposed brick, lots of mirrors, a still from A Clockwork Orange in the bathroom, and the Grateful Dead and other hippie rock on the stereo, this could just as easily be your neighborhood American-grub joint, not a place specializing in Peruvian cuisine. The low-strung, neighborhood types and occasional hipsters come for tasty, affordable food, which chef Nelida Godfrey fashions after the traditional dishes she watched her grandmother prepare in her native Lima. First on the menu are varieties of refreshing, citrusy ceviche, fish and Bermuda onions served cold and seasoned with cilantro leaves and lemon and lime juices. Appetizers rely heavily on potatoes—first cultivated in high-altitude Peru 2,000 years ago. Among these, chicken causa, a little football of peppery mashed potatoes filled with chicken and avocado, stands out as a great combination of textures. Entrées run the gamut: seafood, chicken, duck, pork, beef, lamb, and vegetables are served in a variety of tangy, spicy, and creamy Peruvian sauces. The fish escaveche, a snapper fillet with fried yucca, is delightfully tangy, swimming in a syrupy vinegar-pepper sauce. Aji de pollo, shredded chicken in a yellow pepper cream sauce with peas, is strangely reminiscent of great chicken pot pie, except there's rice instead of pastry. Know in advance that if you're going to eat here you had better like cilantro leaves, because almost anything you order will include fresh sprigs of it. — Sari Botton

Ceviche mixto (shrimp, squid, baby octopus and fish), $17; chicken causa, $10; fish escaveche, $23; aji de pollo, $15