Pisco y Nazca Ceviche Gastrobar – Adding the Pisco Punch to Doral

By Jordan Elbaum

Pisco y Nazca has such an inviting feel that even if you just see it from the street it calls you in. The floor to ceiling windows also double as doors that open up to let the fresh air in! This is the perfect place for happy hour, allowing everyone to mix and mingle around their stunning bar or out on the patio.

Since Pisco y Nazca is a ceviche gastrobar it was only fitting that we started with ceviche first. There are eight different ceviches on their menu. We decided to try the cremoso – Mahi, shrimp, creamy leche de tigre, celery, habanero, sweet potato. The mahi and the shrimp are ice cold and have completely absorbed all of the delicious tangy and spicy marinade the’yre sitting in making a refreshing starter to your meal.

This went perfectly with my Pisco Punch – Pisco Cuatro Gallos, fresh pineapple, papaya syrup, Inca Kola, plum bitters. This combination will basically transport you to Peru.

Something fun about Pisco y Nazca’s menu is that they have a Peruvian skewer section on it! The “anticuchos.” I fell in love with the Anticucho de Costilla – braised short rib, chichi morada anticuchera, aji Amarillo whipped potato, tropical chalaquita. First things first – aji Amarillo whipped potatoes. This is like eating ceviche flavored mashed potatoes in the best way possible. They were so creamy and buttery and tangy all at the same time. On to the short-rib, I just had to get that off of my chest. The short rib comes on a skewer but is by no means a small portion because of that. These are pretty good size chunks of beef cooked to tender perfection and served with a tropical salsa – delish.

Another thing I really like about the menu is that they have large shareable plates as well as tapas size. One of the larger plates we tried was the Mariscada – mahi, octopus, shrimp, squid, mussels, clams, squid ink, arborio, rocoto chalaquita, crostini. All of the fish was cooked perfectly but what really makes this dish is not only the squid ink risotto but the flavor that explodes in your mouth when you eat the risotto and the rocoto chalaquita together. The rocoto chalaquita (which is like a salsa) is a little bit spicy so it goes well with the buttery risotto.

We also tried the Chaufa Aeropuerto- shrimp, tenderloin beef, chicken, calamari, chifa fried rice, pickled vegetables, salsa criolla. I mean what more could you want in a shareable dish? You get basically all of the food groups in one dish and let’s be real – who doesn’t love fried rice?

Okay fun fact from Juan Carlos Marchan Vice President & Partner before we move onto dessert because knowledge is power people! Nazca lines are a series of ancient geoglyphs located in the dessert of Peru. So when Pisco y Nazca was thinking of what their logo was going to be they chose an octopus because the tentacles represent the Nazca lines in Peru! On to dessert because you were such good listeners. So these two are completely tied in my book, equally amazing. The first being the chocolate dome-dark chocolate sphere, sweet potato custard, caramel corn, warm ganache. This is a showstopper, the waiter comes out and pours warm ganache all over the chocolate dome and it immediately melts revealing the custard, ice cream and caramel corn inside. The chocolate sort of falls in and gets mixed with everything adding to the dessert. There’s a creamy texture from the custard and ice cream and then you get a crunch from the caramel corn and chocolate dome.

Now, we know everyone in Miami loves their arroz con leche and Pisco y Nazca just turned it into a cheesecake! Yes, cheesecake – I don’t think I even have the words to describe how good this was. You just have to go try it.

Pisco y Nazca is located at 8551 NW 53rd St, #A101, Doral, FL 33166 For reservations or more information, call: 786) 805-4344 or, visit: http://piscoynazca.com