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 As
if bringing southern California and the Baja Peninsula to Wilmington
in the form of K-38 Baja Grill wasn't enough, Josh Vach, owner,
has built upon that chili and red pepper-laden foundation with a
new restaurant located in the Porter's Neck Shipping Center. Kiva
Grill, a world away both visually and sensually, does more than
merely up the ante of quesadillas and enchiladas that the surfer
in all of us enjoys so much at K-38 -- it expands the taste horizon
Vachs originally created by adding even more flavors from the Southwest,
as well as the Pacific Rim.
How is this possible? With a lot of time spent and an apparent
obsession with that dry, dusty world characterized by adobe and
tumbleweed - and the uncanny ability on his part to create dishes
that combine flavors to yield the proper nuance. In fact, I'll say
this up front: there are two chefs in town that create nuanced cuisine
better than any others, James Bain at Harvest Moon and Josh Vach
(incidentally, the two are surfing buddies and Vach spends his quiet
time watching James' operation from the bar). It's simply said,
but not easily done. By boldly combining herbs and sauces not typically
found in regional cuisine with (mostly) local ingredients, these
chefs have managed to produce creative, original dishes that don't,
however, go "over the top" in concept into the realm of
the absurd.
Kiva Grill is, for Vach, an achievement born out of his love for
the Southwest and it represents simply another installment of a
grander plan. "My life is about learning the business and creating
jobs," he says. "When I came back from California we were
going to open a series of small taco stands in the area, but we
realized it would take six of them to make a business." K-38,
he says, is really just one of those taco stands while Kiva, he
makes clear, is another matter entirely. If everything goes according
to plan next summer Vach and crew will open what may be called the
"Baja Fresh Taco Stand," or some variation on that theme.
So, if you've been to K-38, you have a sense of the foundation
upon which Kiva has been built. But where K-38 is a decidedly laid-back
experience with the high-end dishes topping out at around $14, Kiva
presents a number of entrees that push toward $20 and swaps K-38's
light fare for a little more elaboration. In terms of décor,
Kiva is a feast for the eyes, as well, with layer upon layer of
authentic detail culled from the many trips Vachs, accompanied by
his father, Richard, made to Santa Fe, Taos and points thereabout.
In fact, the entire restaurant was almost entirely designed by the
two -- a source of obvious pride for Josh, who is happy to recount
the details.
"We wanted to go bigger and spread our wings a little, and
you could say that the company sponsored our research into those
places," Vach says. "His experience and design influence…well,
I'm very blessed to have him on my side, helping to create an element
that's workable." Indeed, Vach points out the wonderfully unobservable
fact that most of the functional elements of the restaurant - the
credit card machines, coffee makers and cash registers, for instance
- are completely hidden. You never see them or, for that matter,
hear them. "The customers can focus on the food and service."
Once you leave the outside world of the brand new Porter's Neck
Center behind, Kiva Grill brings you into a place better described
in the westerns of Louis L'Amour or Cormac McCarthy (look him up).
It is a spacious room chambered into smaller sections that allow
for a contained, intimate atmosphere. The restaurant's adobe walls
are accented with rough-hewn lattia brought in directly from Santa
Fe and festooned with artwork that rings of the West. Wilmington
artist Doug Campbell has created a pounded metal cow skull and several
other pieces, while Dumay Gorham, Jr. has fashioned a remarkable
wood-carved diorama of a Navajo cliff dwelling that presides over
the bar. The bar, for its part, occupies a central spot in the restaurant
over which the tables peer, and is backed by a tidy collection of
colorful tequila bottles in every shape and size.
Along the walls of Kiva Grill, tucked between tables, are old wood
cabinets adorned with stunning glass water pitchers that Vachs has
collected, while the walls hold photographs he found at a Santa
Fe flea market (taken by Janice Schwartz) that depict scenes of
cattle round-ups and sinewy, frayed horses. Because of both Vachs'
obvious devotion to detail (the father was a restauranteur, also),
the Kiva Grill's atmosphere joins the ranks of the most scintillating
in the city which makes the restaurant, and the food it serves,
an experience filled with much observation and discussion. Just
the way I like it…
Favorite touch: a miniature "altar" off one section of
the central walkway area that contains a tiny arch housing a votive
candle beneath a metal and wood crafted cross.
On to the food. As I said, Kiva Grill's cross combinations of western
and Pacific Rim tastes renders many of the dishes utterly unique.
There are soups (such as the smoked chicken, broccoli and black
bean) and salads (the avocado and vine ripened tomato) but no specific
appetizers. Instead, there's a great selection of "small plates"
that range from six to ten dollars. The Southwestern Potstickers
are wonton dumplings filled with herbed meat that come with two
sauces for dipping, an ahi dressing (gingery and slightly citrus)
and a sweet & sour sauce. The Chipotle BBQ Baby Back Ribs are
slow-cooked overnight in a special apparatus and covered in a fairly
spicy glaze that has been caramelized to give a nice crust to the
meat.
Another item, the Soy Glazed Sea Scallops are served over grilled
asparagus with a cilantro-lime vinaigrette and a vegetable "confetti"
prepared each day in the kitchen. The mango, jalapeno and brie quesadilla
is a rich dish with a remarkable, I'll say stunning, bite to it.
Water, or beer, or an icy margarita is needed for this one. A real
treat was the Takoshimi, which consists of thin slices of seared,
peppered ahi tuna in crispy wontons with a southwestern rim salsa
made of roasted tomatoes and shitake mushrooms. Very, very interesting.
"I've seen different versions of that dish out west,"
says Vach, "and I got the basis for it while I was in California,
but the salsa is our own. This is where the whole Pacific Rim fusion
with Southwestern idea really lends itself to creativity and flexibility."
For us, several of the small plates were plenty, but if you each
choose just one and (of course) share it you'll hopefully have room
for the main plates, which favor the more traditional southwestern
cuisine. There are six different fajitas offered, including grilled
chicken or beef or shrimp, as well as fresh catch. There's the Roasted
Vegetable Burrito, the Spinach Enchiladas and the Enchiladas Verdes
(flour tortillas with grilled chicken, fresh spinach, mushrooms
and Monterey jack cheese with tomatillo sauce and salsa fresca).
The Enchiladas Del Mar consists of three corn tortillas filled with
shrimp, scallops, dungeness crab, Monterey jack cheese and roasted
garlic cream.
And, of course, we did have some dessert, the Cocoa Crepe filled
with banana and a chocolate cream sauce and covered with diced kiwi,
mango and pineapple. Another favorite is the Crème Brulè
with tropical fruit.
Finally, as with K-38, there are the now infamous Premium Margaritas,
such as the Prickly Pear (Jose Cuervo Gold, prickly pear cactus
juice and sweet & sour) and the El Blanco (Sauza Conmerativo
Anejo, Cointreau, lemonade, sweet & sour).
Is Kiva Grill simply an upscale version of K-38 Baja Grill? Well,
it's a more intimate, intricately planned complement to the original
with dishes that are intended to push the senses…but in the
democracy of good and unique cuisine, both restaurants are equally
strong experiences.
KIVA GRILL
Porter's Neck Shopping Center
8211 Market Street
Wilmington, NC 28405
910.686.8211 |
