"But I got my head in the clouds like Zeus
Swear I can see…read morethe game from a bird's-eye view"
(Eminem)
What on earth does peri peri mean?
Well peri peri is a fiery little African Bird's-eye chili whose name literally means "hot pepper" in Bantu.
Tribos Peri Peri in Avon is the regional chain's eighth location (and the only one in CT), with the other seven in MA, MD, and NJ.
Their cuisine pays homage to that incendiary African Bird's-eye chili pepper in their Portugese, African, and Southeast Asian flavored chicken dishes.
You can have your pick of wings, tenders, platters, and even a whole chicken with or without sides. Some of the sides and appetizers have a Mediterranean flair such as hummus, pita breads, couscous, falafel, etc.
The non-chicken lovers can get other dishes with lamb, paneer cheese, falafel, etc.
Now, when you order chicken you have to decide on your tolerance for a heat level. I ordered three freshly grilled tenders and needed to select one of their six spice levels for the sauce the tenders get bathed in.
Level One is plain, Level Two is Lemon & Herb, Level Three is Mild, Level Four is Medium, Five is Hot, and Six dares you to be Very Hot.
I went with Level Four Medium, and I gotta tell ya, my chicken tenders were very spicy. Oh... and the chicken itself? FANTASTIC - freshly grilled, large, moist and perfect.
Soon after the tenders were delivered to my table, two more things appeared- a squeeze bottle of white and red sauce. The smiling server said if my chicken was too spicy I could cool it down with the white garlic sauce. But if they weren't spicy enough, I could increase the firepower with some peri peri sauce.
Of course I had to try the peri peri sauce and lets just say I was very grateful I just tried an eye dropper's worth of it.
Along with the chicken, I ordered an amazing side of grilled corn on the cob.
So the food was great, but how about the service? My experience was fantastic. The gent who took my order was friendly, conversational, and helpful. And when he brought out those two sauces, he was playfully smiling when he talked about the heat level of that Peri Peri sauce.
What a nice addition to the Farmington Valley.