Peruvian on first, Mexican on second at former Parsippany pizzeria

Marinated pork tacos at Garibaldi Peru-Mex in Parsippany. (Ed Murray/The Star-Ledger)
on February 20, 2013 at 12:20 AM, updated May 13, 2013 at 5:35 PM

Take two couples, add one pizzeria, stir in some Peruvian classics and Mexican mole and simmer for three years. When ready, you have a silly story and really good food.

Three years ago, friends Jorge and Gloria Andrade, who hail from Peru, and Roberto and Zully Delgado, who are from Mexico, were neighbors in Parsippany. Their kids went to school together, they socialized and vacationed together.

Here’s where it gets a little confusing: Roberto and Zully wanted to open a restaurant. A friend who owned a pizzeria on hectic Route 46 wanted to retire and sell his business. Jorge learned to cook traditional Mexican food from his grandmother, and Zully’s husband Roberto learned traditional Peruvian food from his; his mom still has a restaurant in Peru.

They decided to go in together to buy the pizzeria, but to serve what? Fusion? Not quite their style. The food they knew was from old family recipes. So to honor their heritages, Jorge and Roberto each taught the other the dishes of their childhoods.

Meanwhile, Zully and Gloria take turns running Garibaldi â yes, they kept the name and still make pizza for the long-time customers, along with some subs for those who wander into what they think is an Italian place, but most of the menu is Mexican and Peruvian. It still looks like a pizzeria, by the way: a storefront with a large counter where pies were once made (the pizza oven is now in the kitchen), booths and tables and a soda case â only this one has Inca Kola and Mexican beverages in cans and bottles.

Let’s start with the Peruvian side of the menu. Lomo saltado ($12.00; sautéed beef or chicken with rice and tomatoes on top of fries) is a big seller, as are the seafood ceviches ($11-$12; mix-and-match tilapia, octopus, squid, shrimp, mussels and scallops). Bandeja paisa ($12; beef, rice, chorizo and yellow plantains topped with fried eggs) is a delicious way to learn the ways of Lima, as is frijoles charros ($4; baked pinto beans with chorizo and, inexplicably, sliced hot dogs).

lomo-saltado.jpg Lomo saltado, a classic Peruvian dish of marinated strips of steak stir-fried with tomatoes and onions, is one of the specialities at Garibaldi Tex-Mex.  

On the Mexican side, there are 19 kinds of tacos ($2-$3; from marinated pork, beef and chicken to tongue, grilled cactus, tripe, and lamb). The pork is a house specialty and it’s done beautifully, so you might want to start with that before moving on to the more exotic offerings. Everything is made in-house, everything is fresh and the smell of simmering stews as you enter will immediately let you know this isn’t pizza land anymore, Dorothy.

Tacos are made with warm corn tortillas, and there are also combinations on one taco, along with tostadas ($8), enchiladas verdes ($8.50; with chicken or beef in a 16-ingredient mole), and quesadillas ($5-$7.75). Like every dish at Garibaldi, they’re big enough for leftovers.

For Mexican entrées, try anything in the mole, or bistec served several ways ($11), but always served with fried eggs on top. Or go real Mex with the costilla con nopal, cebollitas y frijoles charros (at $15, it’s the most expensive thing in the place), a combination of beef ribs with cactus, onions, scallions, and simmered "cowboy" beans, a wake-you-up mix of pintos, tomatoes and chorizo, among other ingredients.

This is serious Peruvian and Mexican food â there are at least a dozen entrees from each cuisine. Garibaldi also serves traditional breakfast all day ($7.95-$8.25), if you like your eggs for dinner.

If you just want a snack or a sandwich, try one with chorizo ($7.50; a spicy sausage) or the salted beef ($7.50), although you can also order a burger, hot dog or buffalo wings if you’re not feeling adventurous. If you've never tried Papa a la Huancaína ($5.50), which consists of boiled potatoes served cold and drenched in a creamy cheese sauce, I suggest you do. I’ve always thought of this dish as Peruvian-style potato salad, and it’s one of my favorites.

Whatever you order, do not miss the yuca frita ($3), an alternative to French fries using the starchy cassava root. It’s so good, I want to take some home with me to eat in the car, but that might stop me from eating a large slice of Gloria’s tres leches cake or flan, and I definitely don’t want to do that.

Sometimes the best marriages aren’t made in heaven; they’re made right here when friends get together and do something special. Garibaldi may still serve pizza, but what’s really cooking in the kitchen is way more important. The dishes haven’t changed much from when their grandmothers passed on their recipes, but when a Peruvian friend and a Mexican friend teach each other the foods of their youth, it’s a good story. And a really good meal.

Garibaldi Peru-Mex
107 Route 46 East, Parsippany, (973) 808-7028.
Hours: 10:30 a.m. - 9:30 p.m., daily
