Adriana Restaurant

Adriana Engelhard and her husband Mark debuted their first restaurant in Lima, Peru, 14 years ago. Now they have a Peruvian eatery in Surfside, and locals are flocking here for fresh, cleanly prepared takes on their native cuisine. Actually the bill of fare is extensive and also focuses on cuisine outside the realm of Peru. Salads include Thai chicken, teriyaki steak, and a "Santa Fe" concoction served in a tortilla bowl (which would seem more fitting at The Cheesecake Factory). Pastas and risotti come Italian-style and are adeptly presented, as are some prosaic Continental dishes like beef Stroganoff, but the Peruvian items are Adriana's specialty -- such as little spherical croquettes of puréed yucca and melted cheese (yuquitas) that come with the piquant cheese sauce Huancaína. Or sabana con tacu-tacu, a large, pounded-out, breaded steak cutlet sided with tacu-tacu (rice and beans fried into the shape of a burrito, a fried egg, and fried bananas tossed with vinegared red onions. Price for this dish is $16.95; excepting osso buco ($33.95), all main courses are under $25. Just a few seafoods are offered -- tuna, salmon, and tilapia with shrimp perked in a spicy pisco sauce. The wine list is short, uninspiring, but well-priced. Dessert selections, like the rest of the menu, lurch globally from apple pie à la mode to profiteroles to marble cheesecake, but also include a few Lima-style treats like lucuma mousse and a "stumble" made from chirimoya, a fruit textured like puréed bananas but with a musky pineapple flavor. The room is comely and contemporary, the food fresh and tasty. Service, however, needs to improve.