Inka Heritage [Closed]
602 S Park Street
Madison, WI
First off, Inka Heritage gets major cultural awareness points for using Juan Velasco’s 1975 Quechua orthography that spells “Inka” with a K instead of a C (which is an Imperial Spanish spelling). Velasco wasn’t the best guy, but his transliterations were top-notch. Well done. Now on to the food.
We tend to review a fair amount of Peruvian restaurants, and with good reason – we feel that Peruvian cuisine is well on its way to competing with Thai food as a major player in the US food scene. Which is why we were so excited when Inka Heritage, the first Peruvian restaurant in the Madison city limits, opened in 2007. We have been back multiple times since our first visit shortly after the opening (when they could not make nearly half the items on their own menu) but are happy to report that the restaurant has grown into its own with great interpretations of all the classic Peruvian dishes, as well as the best lúcuma mousse we’ve found outside Peru.
At most Peruvian restaurants, I have my set of usuals: anticuchos, an originally Afro-Peruvian dish of skewered, marinated pieces of beef heart with a side a ají, and ceviche pescado acid cooked in citrus juice and garnished with sweet potatoes and big corn (I still don’t know the proper name for it). L likes to get the aji de pollo, shredded chicken smothered in an aji cream sauce garnished with a hard-boiled egg and served with rice. And for dessert, we split the aforementioned lúcuma mousse; made from an Andean fruit rarely available outside of South America with a taste somewhere between sweet potatoes, maple syrup, and cashews. It is delectable.
Inka Heritage does all these things, and does them well. The anticuchos are true to the original dish, using the best pieces of beef heart muscle (some other restaurants keep the anticuchos marinade but substitute white meat chicken for the beef hearts, which is not only inauthentic but culinary highway robbery) with a slightly spicy, tangy marinade that works well with the ají on the side. The ceviche too is solid, with the right citrus juice mixtures we’ve come to expect – though the very high onions to fish ratio, as well as the smaller serving size, makes us wonder why the price is higher than what we found at Rosa de Lima in Chicago. L’s aji de pollo is a failsafe dish, one we do not always see at other restaurants, and well worth it at Inka Heritage. The dish’s cream sauce is packed with interesting flavor combinations (“yellow pepper, garnished with roasted walnut, fresh parmesan cheese, botija black olive, boiled egg” says the menu) that are probably best suited to the shredded chicken, allowing all the flavors to surround each chicken piece. Mix in with the rice, and it is easily one of Inka Heritage’s best dishes.
The menu does, of course, offer a number of other options outside of our traditional favorites that are well worth sampling, particularly in the seafood department. Overall, Inka Heritage can run a bit on the pricy side (the average entrée is about $13), but the restaurant’s increasingly elegant ambience (considerably moreso now than when it opened) make it a great place for a classy night out with a group or date. Madison has a number of great dining options, but we try to get back as often as we can – especially to introduce friends to Peruvian cuisine who have not tried it before.
We’re not going to lie, we are drawn to nice food 
Sahara Kabob
We should have realized what we were in for when the reviews on Yelp said “humongous portions.” Not heeding their advice and logically thinking two dinner portions would be just enough for two hungry people, we set about making our menu choices. It was a busy night, so we opted for carry-out. The Combo Plate seemed like a good option, with helpings of chicken and kefta (ground beef and lamb) kabob and chicken shawirma served on white rice (my choice over couscous) with small sides of grilled and pickled veggies. Turns out it also comes with a soup – I picked douckua, a thick concoction of meat and barley in yogurt sauce. L went with the vegetarian route, picking the falafel plate (it comes with eight pieces) over couscous with lentil soup on the side. We added in a small appetizer of boorek, meaty egg rolls with chili dipping sauce, and figured we had enough for dinner.
non-American food. When our food came out, we were shocked by how much we were getting. Two completely full take-out boxes, two full bowls of soup, plus the bowl of couscous, the boorek, and a small assortment of complimentary dipping sauces. All for $20. As she wrapped up our order, the server asked if we liked baklava. We gave a hesitant yes, thinking she would push us to buy some, but were surprised when she plopped a free serving right into our bag. At this point, we knew we had ordered way too much food. But was it way too much good food?
tle disappointing, tinged with almost a Ms. Grass-like flavor, but the rest of the meal was a home run. My combo plate was solid all the way around from shawirma to the kabobs, with solid cuts of beef, lamb, and chicken all grilled to perfection. L’s falafel was solid as well, easily compared to other excellent falafels we have had in the past.
The
Yes, we are aware that French Indochina does not exist. However, Le Colonial does its best to channel a romantic fin-de-siècle Vietnamese atmosphere with elegant decor and potted palms. We enjoyed a very continental 9 o’clock dinner, which was too dark for a good ambiance shot – so here’s a photo from the restaurant’s website. The menu itself is a fusion of Vietnamese dishes with some French flavors and techniques.
Bangkok Cafe
Wow – here’s something that’s fun and pretty useful: Evil Mad Scientist’s 
I’m always intrigued by new dishes, but it’s not often I encounter an entirely new fruit. So when I saw something called a 
Bien Trucha
We started with a pair of appetizers: Mexican-style ceviche ($7.95) and Poblano chile soup with potato cubes and queso fresco ($3.95). M is not normally a fan of Mexican ceviche (he goes for Peruvian when he can) but found this better than most others he has tried: the tomatoes, fresh fish, cilantro, lime juice, and avocado were served in a more generous portion than is typically found, and the extra juice from the limes and tomatoes kept the entire mixture very well-balanced, both in flavors and texture. Likewise, the Poblano chile soup was a treat, and managed to be both creamy and light. Straight, simple, and to the point – a great prelude to the rest of our meal, and an excellent warm, smooth appetizer to pair with the ceviche.
$9.95;); Bien Trucha Tacos (grilled skirt steak, chorizo, manchego cheese and tomatillo-serrano salsa, $8.95) and Tacos de Pescado (battered fried tilapia, cabbage, onion, lime and chipotle aoili, $8.95). Each variety was nearly perfect. Served in groups of four on a simple wooden board, their presentation is a perfect complement to Bien Trucha’s style. What really stood out to us was how fresh everything was – even the fish tacos were great all this way inland. While we don’t know if these tacos are worth a 2 hour drive, if you are anywhere near the West suburbs, they’re worth the trip.
[Painting by 
Eating The World 