PERUVIAN, JUST IN TIME NAZCA IN VAN NUYS SATIFIES - BUT BE SURE TO ARRIVE EARLY.Byline: Larry Lipson Restaurant Critic DON'T GO LATE for dinner at Nazca, a small, 28-seat Peruvian cafe in Van Nuys, as I did one evening. It was around 8:30 p.m., and the door was locked. It was then that I noticed the hours were posted right there in front of me. Closed at 8, it said. So I came back the next day, much earlier of course. This time it was a solo experience. Nazca emphasizes seafood, so I picked a bowl of steaming parihuela ($9.75), Peru's peppery pep·per·y adj. 1. Of, containing, or resembling pepper; sharp or pungent in flavor. 2. Vigorously sharp-tempered: a peppery sales clerk. 3. answer to cioppino ciop·pi·no n. pl. ciop·pi·nos A stew made of several kinds of fish and shellfish, tomatoes, and white wine. [Italian, perhaps variant of northwest Italian ciuppin.] . Thwarted in my appetizer quest for a Peruvian tamal ($3.50) - they had sold out - and with no other untried appetizers listed (other than the soup, salad or huancaina potato options included with entrees), I ordered a side of fries ($1.50) to accompany my bowl of seafood soup. The crunchy, simple iceberg lettuce house salad proved to be a cool, refreshing precursor to the spicy heat forthcoming. The brimful brim·ful adj. Full to overflowing. brimful Adjective (foll. by of)completely filled with Adj. 1. bowl sported chubby green mussels in the shell, firm little shrimp with the tails left on, nicely chewable white squid rings, an occasional cube-shaped piece of octopus and several small whitefish whitefish: see salmon. whitefish Any of several silvery food fishes (family Salmonidae, or Coregonidae), inhabiting cold northern lakes of Europe, Asia, and North America. segments. None were overcooked. All floated in a spicy, garlicky gar·lick·y adj. Containing, tasting of, or smelling of garlic. Adj. 1. garlicky - relating to or tasting or smelling of garlic; "garlicky sauce" tomato broth. The thick, seasoned, fried potatoes were the perfect counterpart to the hearty seafood soup. And considering the fact that Peruvians really love their potatoes, it made cultural as well as culinary sense. Nazca bestows on its customers a two-sided, plastic-encased menu. On the side with the parihuela which is No. 16, there are 27 seafood choices, four of them ceviches ($8.99 or $9.50), one a delightful, shareable, mixed rendition of fish, shrimp, octopus and squid. On the menu's flip side are 21 meal opportunities - six chicken, eight beef, two milanesa ``schnitzels,'' two fried fish and three pastas, the latter all spaghetti plates served with either fish, steak or chicken. Every one of them can be had for the bargain price of $6.90 each. From the pasta segment, tallarin verde was tried one day. This, of course, translates into green-toned noodles. Here, they are a tad softer than al dente, tossed in a good pesto sauce and paired with a thin cut of beef Noun 1. cut of beef - cut of meat from beef cattle cut of meat, cut - a piece of meat that has been cut from an animal carcass chuck - the part of a forequarter from the neck to the ribs and including the shoulder blade , relatively tasty and a bit chewy chew·y adj. chew·i·er, chew·i·est Needing much chewing: chewy candy. chew  i·ness n. , more medium than medium rare. For this price, one couldn't complain. But the delicious under-$7 surprise was Nazca's version of arroz con pollo Noun 1. arroz con pollo - rice and chicken cooked together Spanish style; highly seasoned especially with saffron chicken and rice - rice and chicken cooked together with or without other ingredients and variously seasoned , the rice mixture also evidencing a green hue, this time from cilantro, which certainly influences the flavor. The darker green tone and the deeper rich taste also comes from the rice and chicken being cooked with a Peruvian malt beer. Absolutely great flavors in this dish. With the spaghetti and steak, the respectable house chicken soup was chosen as the starter. With the cilantro and beer-enhanced rice and moist chicken melange mé·lange also me·lange n. A mixture: "[a] building crowned with a mélange of antennae and satellite dishes" Howard Kaplan. , the traditional huancaina sliced cold potato hors d'oeuvre in the smooth, yellow, creamy dressing seemed more appropriate. From yellow to green to yellow. The sweet ending of a small wedge of house-baked lemon meringue pie ($2.50) works just as well here with Peruvian food as it would with any other type of fare. You can take your time finishing your Nazca meal. Just make sure you start it early enough. Larry Lipson, (818) 713-3668 larry.lipson(at)dailynews.com NAZCA PERUVIAN CUISINE Food: Three stars - Service: Two and one half stars - Value: Three and one half stars Where: 14357 Victory Blvd., Van Nuys. Hours: Open for lunch and early dinner from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday. Recommended items: Arroz con pollo, ceviche ce·vi·che or se·vi·che n. Raw fish marinated in lime or lemon juice with olive oil and spices and served as an appetizer. [American Spanish, from Spanish cebiche, fish stew, from mixto, parihuela, lemon meringue pie. How much: Starters from $3.50 to $9.50, entrees (includes choice of three starters) from $6.90 to $16, desserts from $2 to $2.75. No alcohol. All major credit cards except Discover. Reservations: Helpful. Call (818) 782-6808. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Anna, left, and Cindy Flores Flores, town, Guatemala Flores (flōrəs), town (1990 est. pop. 2,200), capital of Petén department, N Guatemala. Flores was built on an island in the southern part of Lake Petén Itzá and on the site of the offer a heaping plate of Piqueo de Mariscos at Nazca Peruvian Cuisine in Van Nuys. Phil McCarten/Staff Photographer |
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