Parada

Parada Restaurant Review:

Tuck up inside chef Carlos Altamirano's (Mochica, Piqueos, La Costanera) bright Peruvian restaurant in Walnut Creek, with its tall windows and industrial metal furnishings, for refined comfort food such as lamb shank slow braised in cilantro-Cusqueña beer served with panamito beans and arroz blanco. Or sit outside, where sidewalk breezes and leche de tigre cebiches with varied fishes and complementary sauces refresh and stimulate. Pulpo a la parilla --- grilled baby octopus perched on periwinkle-blue mashed potatoes --- astounds with shape, color and flavor. If you can tear yourself away from bountiful seafood choices, the pollo a la brasa is a rotisserie chicken dish that best demonstrates Altamirano's skill at combining traditional technique with contemporary creativity. Lively specialty Pisco cocktails are another chance to revel in lime juice; drinks are both pretty and strong. For dessert, calm vitalized senses with flan, panna cotta or artisan cookies.