Pisco y Nazca's fall dish debuts and live music make for a fun night out

Pisco y Nazca likes to keep things interesting for their diners and the fall dishes they recently debuted fit that well. Add in live music and you've got the perfect recipe for a fun night out.I dined recently at the Kendall location inside The Palms at Town & Country, a spacious restaurant with a nice central bar. The live entertainment that night was a welcome addition, a solo acoustic performer. It was pleasant background music, so much more better than the blaring music they play at so many restaurants nowadays. The cocktail was quite tasty as well, it was nice to sip on and take in the soothing sounds.Wanting to sample some of the new fall dishes, we chose a few of those but also stuck by some favorites. As appetizers we chose the causa sampler and the ceviche trio sampler, both shareable and with excellent variety.The trio of mini causas was the ideal way to try all three of the ones on the menu. One was topped with chicken salad, another with tuna tartar and the other with panko shrimp. All included whipped potato and a variety of aioli with the chicken salad topped with red pepper confit and avocado and the tartar served with a wonton crisp. All three were scrumptious mini bites of the full version.The same can be said for the ceviche trio sampler. It was difficult to choose a favorite. Was it the passion fruit variety with fish and shrimp, passion fruit leche de tigre, cancha (crunchy Peruvian corn) and choclo (Peruvian corn in its traditional form)? Or, the tradicional with fish, leche de tigre, cancha, choclo and sweet potato or... the cremoso with fish, shrimp, leche de tigre, celery, aji limo and sweet potato. I couldn't single out my favorite, perhaps you can go try and let me know which one you like best.In the entrees is where we strayed a little from the new dishes because my sister, who was dining with me, loves the barley risotto. I have to admit, I had a taste and loved it too. I make traditional risotto at home quite a bit but the barley was such a nice change. They call it Barlotto and it's topped with stir fry vegetables, soy sauce and vinegar (the addition of soy sauce is that Asian influence that's always present in a Peruvian menu). You can choose to add a protein but it really isn't necessary, the dish stands up well just the way it is.I chose from the fall menu, the escabeche de pescado a fried snapper with olives, egg, sauteed onions and aji amarillo, sweet potato wedges and choclo. The crispy and light coating on the fish was great with the kick of the aji and sweetness of the onions, potato and that hearty Peruvian corn.Dessert was definitely the most unique part of the meal. We shared the pionono a la mode, a rolled sponge cake with dulce de leche, Nutella and Kahlua ice cream. Absolutely nothing wrong with that.Then, we were presented with the chef's selection dessert the Jardin de Quinoa with passion fruit, Kahlua mousse, sweet and salty crispy quinoa and edible micro flowers. It was a symphony of textures, biting down on the crunchy quinoa then delving into the velvety mousse and sweet passion fruit. If you want a completely different dessert experience, try this.And...if you want to enjoy a nice dinner with soothing, relaxing live music, Pisco y Nazca is a great option.Pisco y Nazca, The Palms of Town & Country, 8405 Mills Dr., #260 (305) 630-3844.