Simple surprises 🍽
Chef-recommended Taytacha exemplifies the beauty of traditional Peruvian cuisine, uncomplicated but bursting with flavor from the first crack (or sip) of corn
Last year, when I was meeting with Chef Luis Pagan to photograph his Peruvian Seco de Carne recipe for Side Dish’s monthly series with Ranch Foods Direct, he told me I had to get to this food truck his friends had launched not long ago, called Taytacha.
As a recommendation from a chef, I took it seriously and added the business to my lead sheet. For no great reason other than perpetual squirrel chasing (both professional and person) I didn’t connect with the truck during the year. I later updated my notes to reflect that they’d moved into brick-and-mortar. That was near year’s end. I made a mental note to swing by sometime when I was heading out towards Austin Bluffs Parkway. And then, I didn’t — month after month.
One excuse is I never saw a sign for the eatery in their street-facing strip mall to trigger my memory. That’s because there isn’t one all these months later, which I suspect has hurt the business from gaining the traction they deserve. I can now say that, because after our visit for dinner this past week, we (three of us) were pretty bowled over. Taytacha didn’t miss a step from start to sweet finish.
We dine family style and I order us four appetizers and one entrée with a couple sides, plus a couple drinks and desserts. Pictured at the top of the page is the Peruvian ceviche served with red and green onion garnish and toasted “cancha corn.” I’m told that they typically use mahi mahi, but this evening they’ve got tilapia. No matter; it’s citrus-bright, fresh and not fishy at all, light and a little melt-in-the-mouth creamy texturally. We devour it with the crunchy corn nuts for contrast.
Following that: a tamale packed with shredded bits of chicken. I neglect to ask for details, but I suspect achiote and perhaps red chile pepper (ají panca) inform the bright orange color and mild, earthy seasoning. To combat the inherent masa dryness, I make liberal use of the two house sauces we’re given in squeeze bottles at the table. Both are fantastic and pair wonderfully with the remainder of our dishes. One is called a “ranch” but it’s not the typical American salad dressing or wing dip at all, though it’s similarly robust with zesty seasoning notes. The other, my go-to, blends aji amarillo (Peruvian yellow chile pepper) with garlic, onions and Huacatay, an Andean plant in the marigold family which gifts a complex, faintly floral, lightly bitter and highly herbaceous flavor. (I would buy this by the jar and put it on everything at home.)
The tanginess of that second house sauce also balances and cuts through the richness of the anticucho appetizer. That’s a typical Peruvian street food item of grilled beef heart. To anyone who gets squeamish reading those words (i.e. those of you who’re organ meat averse), I encourage you to try this dish because it’s not gamey or challenging like some offal items. Years ago I served an antichucho plate to guests at my house (from an online recipe) and didn’t initially tell them what type of beef was on the skewers. They dined happily, acting only slightly incredulous afterward when I revealed that it was heart. Anyway, Taytacha’s rendition clearly benefits from a long marinade that’s tenderized the protein well and left it with a lightly vinegary afterbite. Some roasted potato hunks on the side are an equal delight.
Next comes the causa de pollo, which your eye would think is a dessert were it not for a sliver of hardboiled egg on top. It’s actually a culinary portmanteau (my fancy way of saying “fusion” here) of potato and chicken salads in one. It’s as if two favorite backyard barbecue side items got together and had a baby — why haven’t we thought of this before? It’s cold, soft and creamy and utterly delightful in its stark simplicity.
Then, our quarter rotisserie chicken arrives with our chosen two sides of beans (Peruvian Mayocoba variety) and a side salad. The bird holds some mesquite essence amidst its charred skin and chews soft and juicy inside. The hearty, buttery beans, both a thick purée and some whole beans mixed in, offer another simple joy, acting as a mildly salty backdrop to the main attraction. I’ve been sipping a Chicha Morada this whole time, which is a traditional drink made with sweetened Peruvian purple corn, laced here with a little cinnamon as well. It’s refreshing and particularly good with this chicken dish for whatever reason.
Lastly, our desserts: homemade alfajores and lucuma ice cream. The first are mini cookie sandwiches filled with a sticky dulce de leche middle. The cookies themselves are shortbread like (with flour, butter and sugar), but with additions of milk, coconut and cornstarch. They’re sold in clamshell to-go containers ($10.95 for around a dozen). We thoroughly enjoy them, but we’re more in love with the ice cream.
Lucuma, we learn, has a natural caramel-y flavor that’s also rightfully likened to maple and even pumpkin. Before we read its container’s label, which shows only sugar, milk and the fruit, we’re convinced there must be caramel among ingredients — that’s how bold the flavor inherently is. We’re quickly obsessed, fawning over the shared cup. I would go back for this alone as a dessert destination. You gotta try it.
Pursuant to why I’m noting the to-go containers as serving vessels, Taytacha does have a small retail area off its dining room where you can buy items like the cookies and purple corn to make your own Chicha Morada, plus many other imported Peruvian ingredients. There’s also refrigerator/freezer cases that have various goods that include homemade ice cream flavors.
As I peruse selections, I talk with co-owner Brigitte Cordova, whose husband Armando is the chef/co-owner. She tells me he has 20 years experience in the industry, mainly dating back to their time in California. She emphasizes how everything they make is 100 percent Peruvian — which is to say not Americanized or dumbed down. She tells me they’re working on launching online ordering soon. I ask whether they have a sign eventually coming and she says yes, hopefully in a few months, as they are apparently waiting for permitting for it.
Meanwhile, I leave with a feeling of urgency, like I have to get the word out and tell people about this place, just as Chef Luis told me. Because it’s awesome and I want to see it supported so it thrives and stays in business here.
I’m thinking as I write this of something championing to say, like “Do it for the beef heart!”
Realistically, I should probably stick to something more generally palatable, like “Taytacha’s lucuma ice cream is a must-try!”
Either way, just go, and tell someone else you know.