As any gastronome worth his weight in foie gras will tell you, Peruvians are fiercely proud of their cuisine.
So it followed that when David Aliaga decided to sell the taxi company he’d built from scratch in Port Chester, N.Y., after 18 years, he returned to his culinary roots by opening a Peruvian restaurant in Danbury.
Empire of the Incas was a major draw when it opened in 2005 — so much so that Aliaga later added a second location in Bethel — and has evolved into a staple of the local Peruvian community.
Today, the restaurant serves traditional dishes, from steaming plates of lomo saltado (a Peruvian version of stir-fry) and anticuchos (skewered beef heart) to more contemporary fare such as ceviche de pollo, a re-imagination of the national dish.
Peruvian cuisine is also heavy on rice and chicken dishes. Aliaga said the kitchen goes through 300 to 350 whole chickens a week on average.
“It’s a fusion of Japanese, Chinese and Korean (cuisine),” he said. “Wherever you go, Peruvian food is very popular.”
The restaurant’s 21-person staff includes his wife and occasionally his son and daughter.
Aliaga emigrated in 1984 from the city of Huancayo, some 123 miles east of Lima, to Tarrytown, N.Y. He put himself through a year of school at nearby Mercy College before moving to Port Chester, where he opened his first business, a deli.
Despite the restaurant’s early success, by 2007 business had fallen off drastically, Aliaga says, because his customer base was pared down by the city’s increasingly anti-immigrant image.
“We lost like maybe 40 to 55 percent of our business because many people moved out of town,” he said.
And while he points out a small contingent of Peruvians have settled in New Milford, “we don’t really have a big community in Danbury.”
Still, according to Aliaga, the restaurant fills a niche, even with the abundance of Latin American eateries in the area.
“The food is very good, (particularly) the chicken,” said Miriam Sosa, of Danbury, who was dining with her cousin, Betty Rodriguez, also of Danbury. “On the weekend they bring musical groups. People can enjoy and dance sometimes at night.”
Empire of the Incas is located at 241 Main St., Danbury. Call 203-744-4622.