Sazon review: Good Peruvian cuisine in Santa Rosa

"It's a cake, but a cookie, yes, like the monkey."

My server was trying to explain a dessert special at Sazon, the Peruvian restaurant that opened last summer in southwest Santa Rosa.

"King Kong," he offered, smiling. "We get it from Peru. You'll like it."

Sazon's owners, Juan Luis Navarro with his sons Juan José and Pablo, get some of their ingredients from their homeland, including chiles, potatoes, yucca and Inca Kola soda ($2.50). They bring in the King Kong ($4), too, which I soon discovered is a super-sweet biscuit, layered with sticky stripes of dulce de leche.

Yet if some elements of my dinner were getting lost in translation, it wasn't the kitchen's fault. The crew was sending out one plate after another of delicious, vibrantly seasoned food that matched the sort of dishes I've eaten on my visits to South America.

With just 28 seats, including six at a bar overlooking a spotlessly clean stainless steel kitchen, Sazon is reaching for an audience that wants to explore the cuisine's idiosyncratic charms.

In ceviche de pescado clasico ($11), for example, the halibut is bathed in milky-hued leche de tigre (spicy fish juice), alongside boiled cusco corn with kernels the size and texture of lima beans, cancha (crunchy toasted corn nuts), soft carrot, and chunks of brilliant purple sweet potato.

Two diners in my party one evening loved the beef hearts ($8), the slightly dry and rubbery nubbins skewered, marinated in mild panca chile, grilled and served glistening in huacatay herb sauce redolent of smoky mint. But two others pushed them aside for the more familiar appetizer of papa rellena ($8), the golden fried potato croquettes studded with beef picadillo, onions, sweet raisins and tart olives in onion-pepper salsa criolla.

Order the seafood stew ($13), and you'll get a bowl brimming with sparkling fresh clams, mussels, shrimp, scallops and halibut, tossed with cusco, potato and green peas in aji amarillo cream sauce that soaks into a big scoop of rice. The same mild, silky sauce moistens generous mounds of pulled chicken for the aji de gallina stew ($11) topped with hard-boiled egg and walnuts.

The white-jacketed cooks turn out a lengthy and reliably well-crafted menu, especially for a nondescript space that used to be a burger joint and taqueria. There's still a walk-up takeout window for treats like lucuma, a maple-flavored fruit ice cream ($5).

Most of the plates are offered all day, like the Peruvian comfort food that is lomo saltado ($12.50) of slightly overcooked wok-fried beef tenderloin tossed with onion and tomato in a salty-sharp sauce of cilantro, soy and vinegar over rice.

But one of the best bites is the lunchtime pan con chicharron ($8), a French roll sandwich plump with juicy fried pork, al dente sweet potato and salsa criolla next to a mound of hand-cut french fries. Try it with a cold beer or house-made chicha morada ($2.50), a bright purple juice of cold sweet corn, flavored with pineapple, cinnamon and cloves.

As I considered the pleasing burn on my tongue from the causa limeña ($8.50) appetizer, I thought of my server's earlier warning.

"It's not too spicy," he said, pointing at what looked like two lemon-yellow softballs topped with shredded crab, slices of avocado and hard-boiled egg, and pungent botija olives. "But really hot," he added, indicating the smear of rocoto sauce on the plate.

The spongy, smoky-sweet orbs of aji amarillo-lime infused potato terrine indeed have sizzle, but the sauce is nuclear. For more cooling, plus a nice bit of texture, he suggested fried sweet plantains ($4) dunked in sour cream.

Sazon's friendly staff is clearly used to explaining the more exotic dishes, and there's even an ingredient glossary on the menu. For food this appealing, it's a language worth learning.

This article has been corrected since it appeared in print.

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This article appeared on page E - 3 of the San Francisco Chronicle