CHAIN REACTION: NANDO'S PERI PERI

By now, Washingtonians should already be quite familiar with the South African outpost, Nando's Peri Peri. Billed as a restaurant with a Mozambique-Portuguese theme, the chain entered the DC market in 2008, introducing Our Nation's Capital to the wonderful world of "peri-peri." Peri-peri, or piri-piri (Galinha á Africana in Portuguese), refers to a hot sauce made from dried and soaked piri-piri chillies, which are a staple condiment used in most stews and soups from East Africa. Its origins stem from Portugal, but has become quite a popular accompaniment in East African cuisine. In Portugal, "Piri-piri" often refers to most hot sauces.

Nando's Peri Peri is named after the son of a Portugese national, Fernando Duarte, living in South Africa. The first restaurant opened in Johannesburg in 1987. It incorporated influences from Portuguese colonists from Mozambique who had migrated to South Africa.

It's entrance into the DC market in 2008 added to the color and flavor of the city's already evolving food culture. It joins the ranks of other international chains that have penetrated the U.S. food market: El Pollo Campero (Guatemala), Tim Horton's (Canada), and Vapiano (Germany). But, like these other chains that came before, the only thing that seems to set Nando's apart is its origins. After all is said and done, Nando's is still a chain like the rest of them.

The chicken is touted as being healthy and always grilled. The specialty comes in the different sauces, which come in varying degrees of "fire" -- Extra Hot, Hot, Mild, and Lemon & Herb. Your chicken can be ordered by the half, the quarter, or in full. There are also different dinner platters, sandwiches, wraps, and salads that can be ordered, all featuring their famous chicken.

The food itself is flavorful. But it's not mind-blowing flavor that you would expect from a place whose facade emits a sense of exoticism. The heat from their sauces might not actually live up to the hype, but that is totally up to the individual. As a lover of things spicy, I didn't find the sauces to be outrageously different from anything I've had before.

The decor is quite impressive, on the other hand. You can tell that they tried their best to fuse the sense of style and decor of Portuguese-inspired East Africa into their restaurants. Dark, stone-ish walls, with modern wall art meld together to offer you a little more ambiance. This easily offsets the fact that you move to the counter to place your order, which is later brought out to your table. Your self-serve beverage bar screams more "Chipotle" than it does anything else, and that easily reminds you that you're in a chain.

At best, the food at Nando's Peri Peri can be classified as "OK." In the end, however, it's quite obvious that no matter where it comes from a chain is still a chain.
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Nando's Peri Peri, 1210 18th Street NW, Washington, DC 20001, 202.621.8603