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| - With all the choices available on the strip, it's tough for me to find a restaurant to get excited about. When a friend wanted to try Chica, I investigated and achieved excitement:
1st - I can't immediately recall an upscale Latin cuisine on the strip, so this is a first.
2nd - head chef Lorena Garcia is a culinary superstar (TV spots from Top Chef Masters and America's Next Great Restaurant)
3rd - I love tacos.
Stepping inside you'll find the decor is stunningly beautiful. The tiles, the artwork, and even the pottery, everything was considered to bring out the Venezuelan, Argentinian, Peruvian, Brazilian, and Mexican flavor. The lighting is a very dim atmosphere, which sets up the nightlife - Next to the huge bar at the entrance is space for a DJ and a little dance floor which packs up on the weekends, says our server... we were here at 5pm on a Saturday and it was mostly empty. GOOD, they can focus more on our food :)
Appetizers:
Pulled Pork Tacos ($12) - three street style tacos - take notice of the yummy, soft, doughy, housemade tortilla
Empanadas ($15) - three compact breaded delights with a light crunchy surface
*Asado Negro Arepas ($13) - three housemade arepas with braised short rib *my fave of the three apps
Entree:
Brazilian Beef Tenderloin ($52) - ordered it a Medium cook which came out a little rare, but it was perfect. That incredible meat was harmoniously matched with the underlying grits.
They have great specialty cocktails too, I went with their twist on an old fashioned, Rhum New Fashioned ($15), always good.
There's a lot more food I wanted to try: the ceviche, the octopus, rotisserie chicken, halibut, lamb... I'll have to come back again soon.
(TLDR) Beef Tenderloin and the Arepas stood out as the highlights of the meal.
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