Gaviota, East Colonial Dr - Closed

I had dinner at this new Peruvian restaurant on East Colonial (50) on Saturday. It replaces Casa Barecelona which replaced California Burrito near Sea Thai and the Executive Airport. It was mostly encouraging. I started with Anticucho (hearts on a skewer) for $14 and grabbed a burger to go for $9. The hearts were good. They were smeared in some kind of paste that was similar to an achiote paste. They also served it with another spicy/creamy orange sauce (panca) for some reason. If I haven't explained yet, hearts are the most fat free, weird body part free, clean piece of beef you will ever encounter. They are everything but gross. The plate came with a pile of cold hominy corn and two thick slices of potato. The corn was a puzzle. It added nada. The potatoes were great. Very crisp. The burger's grind was coarse and stringy. It can't be eaten less than well done. They slapped some limp sweet potato fries and sad tomatoes, lettuce and grilled onions on it. The burger meat was also spiced up in a way I didn't enjoy. I think I've found the weak spot in Peruvian cooking. The menu is similar to many other Peruvian places. They differentiate with the hearts, a similar sweetbreads dish and a pork belly sandwich. They have 6 sandwiches (if you include 2 burgers), 10 entrees (11 if you count the roast chicken) and 7 apps. Prices are good. Ceviche is too high as usual. They listed a lunch at $9. Not sure what was includeded. The place seats about seventy. It looks like a slightly trendy DIY job. Very black. They have been open for two weeks and still have junk in the back and no towels or dryer in the bathrrom. The blinds were askew. The lights on the sign outside were off. The sign is too dark to begin with. That may explain why they had only four others there at prime time and two were friends of the bartender nursing cocktails. They are the second outpost of the restaurant I mentioned in my Stubborn Mule post. Thankfully, I don't have go back to Thornton park now. Even though that opened in November and the owner is a first timer, they should have had this place in better condition than it is. I even believe it is a month or two behind schedule to begin with. I liked it and would go back. I would feel uneasy about having you fight the traffic on 50 for it though. There are alot of Peruvian options around town. The name means seagull.