This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2007, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Walter Gutierrez fell in love with Utah when he first cruised through the state several years ago as a long-haul truck driver.
The mountain peaks and cold winter air reminded him of his native Peru. And in 2001, he moved to Clearfield from Southern California with his wife and four kids.
Now, Gutierrez and his wife, Ofelia, are bringing a little piece of Peru to Utah. They recently opened Machu Picchu Peruvian Restaurant at 1580 S. State St. in that north Davis County community.
"We want to bring people the taste of our country," Walter Gutierrez said through his daughter, Christie, who interpreted his Spanish. "There's not a Peruvian restaurant around here in Davis County."
Already, the restaurant has drawn Peruvian immigrants not only from Utah, but from Idaho, Wyoming and Colorado, Christie Gutierrez said. But the family also wants to serve the broader community in Davis County.
Head chef Ofelia Gutierrez stressed the importance of cooking with natural ingredients and fresh herbs. Most of her ingredients are purchased from Peruvian distributors, but Gutierrez also grows vegetables and hard-to-find herbs in her garden at home.
"In Peru, everything you eat is all natural. You don't buy processed food from the stores," she said, also relying on Christie to interpret her Spanish. "Everything you order here, we do it at the moment - even the potato. We peel it and fry it as you order."
The menu, with prices ranging from $7 to $13, features authentic dishes such as pollo a la brasa, Peruvian-style rotisserie chicken; ceviche de pescado, fish cooked in lemon juice and served with yams and red onions; and lomo saltado, sauteed beef with onions, tomatoes and spices.
The variety is impressive. Machu Picchu restaurant, named for the world-renowned Incan ruins in Peru's lofty mountains, also serves four different types of rice - white, yellow, green and red - and homemade purple-corn juice (chicha morada) and passion fruit juice (jugo de maracuyá).
"In Peru, we have so many different types of food, and this is just a few of them," Ofelia Gutierrez said.
Besides the food, the restaurant shows off Peruvian culture with scenic photos and Peruvian souvenirs hanging from the walls, including handmade wool rugs. A flat-screen television in the corner displays brightly-costumed dancers performing traditional Peruvian folk dances.
Tony Muñoz, a 17-year-old student at Clearfield High School, stopped at the restaurant recently for lunch. He dined on his favorite dish: ceviche.
He moved from Peru when he was 5 years old, but he often returns in the summers to visit relatives.
"I'm glad that there's Peruvian restaurant here," Muñoz said. "I'd be more happy if there was one in every city so people could know how good the food is from Peru."
The Gutierrez family works six days a week. Christie, 27, is the manager. Walter Gutierrez owns a small trucking business and splits his time between the restaurant and driving. He works 10 hours or more seven days a week.
But for him, it's worth it. In Utah, he's been able to buy his first home and gain U.S. citizenship.
Gutierrez first trekked to the United States nearly 20 years ago, traveling through South America, Central America and Mexico by ship and bus. He fled rising prices, a poor job market and acts of terrorism in Peru in search of a better life for his family. He was deported three times, but each time he journeyed back.
"I never gave up, and now my kids are happy. That's what I wanted," he said. "I'm happy because I accomplished my dreams, my ambitions."
If you go *
WHAT: Machu Picchu Peruvian Restaurant
* WHERE: 1580 S. State St., Clearfield
* HOURS: Tuesdays through Sundays, 10 a.m.-8 p.m.
* PHONE: 801-776-0358