Uptown Dallas Dining
Nazca Kitchen rolls out savory empanadas for Uptown Dallas
West Village gets a little South American with the arrival of Nazca Kitchen, which is opening a second Dallas location at the corner of Noble and Cityplace West on April 14.
The original location of Nazca Kitchen opened at 8041 Walnut Hill Ln. in 2012. It is open every day with an all-day menu, plus weekend brunch on both Saturdays and Sundays.
Owner Craig Collins has a love for South America cuisine that he discovered when he traveled there for the first time in 2006. He brings that spirit to his restaurant.
"In South America, food is the common thread in a cultural landscape woven for thousands of years by African, Asian, Indian, and European influences," he says. "Our menu is a diverse selection of our take on these dishes. We are taking classic dishes and putting our spin on them."
Collins knew he wanted to develop a concept for Dallas that would complement that culture. His team includes Shawn Horne, most recently of Stephan Pyles' Stampede 66, Flora Street Cafe, and Sky Canyon Brands, as director of operations, and consulting chef Julia Lopez, formerly executive chef at La Duni Latin Cafe, who is in charge of training and creating new recipes.
Key dishes include salmon, ceviche tacos, and empanadas. There are pupusas, a seafood-stuffed avocado, wraps, a Cuban sandwich, and roast chicken. Nacza was early out on the "bowl" trend, and also has an unusual Brazilian dish which consists of grilled chunks of cheese.
The exact address is 3700 McKinney Ave., and it's going into a space facing the trolley that's entirely new construction. One thing the Uptown branch will have that the original does not is a large bar and patio.