Hey, you there! Yes, you, sitting at your desk, pouting about work, counting the hours until 5 p.m., reading the newspaper or surfing the PG online when you should be doing something. Bored with your day job?

Try this for a career change: emigrate from a rural part of one continent to a city in another continent in which you've never previously stepped foot. Attend school. Marry a native. Empty your savings to open a restaurant serving dishes from your native land, despite almost no community of immigrants from said motherland in transplanted home. Hope that it catches on.

That pretty much summarizes the trajectory of one Shelbin Santos, a native of southeastern Peru near Cusco, which, according to Wikipedia, is the spot on Earth with the highest ultraviolet light level (trivia of the day, brought to you by Munch).

Shelbin came to Pittsburgh some years ago, originally to attend dental school at Pitt, and married a Pittsburgher ('Burgh fellas are irresistible that way), and after working for a while at PNC, told her husband that the only way she'd be able to survive the Pennsylvania winters was to engage in something that she was passionate about -- in this case, the cooking of her homeland.

So they opened Chicken Latino just a few months ago in the Strip with Shelbin serving traditional Peruvian dishes. However, this impressive American dream tale of entrepreneurial spirit would be nothing more than charming prologue if the food wasn't any good.

It is.

The signature dish is a rotisserie-style chicken, marinated overnight with Peruvian spices and peppers, cumin and paprika, and cooked in a traditional brick oven, as is done in Peru. Chickens can be purchased in quarters, halved and wholes. Munch had half a chicken with a side of black beans and Spanish rice ($8.50) and the only regret Munch has is not ordering the other half as well. It was muy delicioso. A nice mixture of a smoky and zesty kind of a flavor.

On a subsequent visit, Munch tried the deep-fried chicken burrito ($2.80), which is probably a 47 in Weight Watchers points but was quite good -- more cuts of the signature chicken wrapped in a fried, flaky casing and complemented with a house-made fiery green chile sauce. Munch cooled his tongue with a salty and sweet side order of fried plantain ($1.99).

The Peruvians may know their way around a chicken, but they don't know from pop. Munch tried a bottle of Inca Cola and nearly went into a hyperglycemic mania. It tastes kind of like a combination of pineapple and cream soda and is so disgustingly sweet it could instantly disintegrate your tooth enamel. Stick with the Pepsi when you visit.

On Saturdays -- naturally Shelbin's busiest day in the Strip -- the menu expands to include Peruvian beef kebabs and ceviche-style fish. Come early, because they sell out fast.

Despite the high-end gourmet restaurants and booty thumpin' nightclubs that have populated the Strip over the past decade, the backbone of the strand between 16th and 31st streets is still the mom & pop ethnic restaurant and market. Chicken Latino is an excellent and welcome addition to the family.

Chicken Latino is at 155 21st St., Strip District. Call 412-246-0974 or log on to www.chickenlatino.com.