Restaurant talk: Nazca Kitchen

Entrana Steak Salad

I felt a little sorry for the restaurant full of diners at Nazca Kitchen Friday when the Lake Highlands Women’s League meeting let out and a bunch of us headed over for lunch. We’d worked up an appetite prepping for the upcoming Holiday in the Highlands home tour, and, after handling our business, we were ready to visit. Things got a little loud.

At least, until the food came. Then…silence. Every morsel on every plate was delightful.

Owner Craig Collins, who also owns Red, Hot & Blue around the corner, brought Nazca’s South American comfort food home after extensive travel in that part of the world. He opened on 12/12/12, in a tip of the hat to the Mayans, who said that day would be the world’s last.

I ordered the Entrana Steak Salad, as tender and flavorful as any on my recent trip to Rio. Penne Collett loved her “crunchy, colorful” Kale Salad with added chicken, and Jane Stadelmann pronounced her Chicken Tacos “fresh and delicious.” Susan Solomon’s Chile Jam Chicken Wrap was slightly sweet, with a spicy chili jam inside the sun-dried tomato tortilla with the grilled chicken, lettuce, yogurt and almonds.

Butter Leaf Fish Tacos

The most popular item was Fish Tacos, with tilapia, cabbage, chipotle-aioli drizzle and mango-lime relish, which you can order on tortillas or wrapped in butter lettuce leaves. Though Marlene Kinney admitted this was a “messy” option, she agreed with Marcia Heger’s assessment: “yummy, light and flavorful.”

Best of all were our sides, which included quinoa (pronounced keen-wah, despite the funny football-related Bud Light commercial); sweet corn roasted and tossed in aji amarillo crema; jicama cole slaw; butternut squash with red onion, cranberries & almonds; steamed veggies; classic fries; fried yucca and Latin rice.

Lots of girls marveled over the strawberry green tea, and Nazca offers fresh juices and colados like the ones you can get in fruit stands all over South America. Nazca also serves breakfast, including an Acai bowl with berries straight from the Amazon, and Pure de Frutas, a kind of mashed fruit concoction.

Quinoa Salad

A full menu is viewable here.

For Happy Hour, they have $2 discounts weekdays 4-7 p.m. on a variety of wines and beers, including some from South America. Nazca is proud, too, of their coffees, blended from beans brought from Columbia, Brazil and Peru. They also have desserts, including rum-bread pudding, carrot cake and chocolate ganache.

Nazca is located at 8041 Walnut Hill Lane, near Central Expressway.