South Texas Entertainment Art Music
STEAM
MAGAZINE
3rd Coast Foodie
COSTA SUR - Wok & Ceviche Bar
Corpus Christi, TX - Padre Island
Photo by Dallas McMahon
Words by Tamma Hicks, STEAM Magazine
You know the saying… April Showers Bring May Flowers? Well after all the rain and crazy weather we had last month – I expect LOTS of flowers… And not just for Mother’s Day! So the next best thing about big rain storms like April’s is how wonderful everything smells and looks. Fresh! Which brings me to May’s 3rd Coast Foodie restaurant… Costa Sur Wok & Ceviche Bar on North Padre Island! About as fresh as you can get! Have you been there yet? It’s a must go; not when you get time – make time! In fact when we called our “foodie teammates,” Lesha and Bill Jones, and explained where we were going, they agreed before we finished talking. Turned out that Costa Sur is their favorite restaurant on the Island and that is a great recommendation!
For those who haven’t been, Costa Sur has a wonderful relaxing atmosphere that is great for intimate dining as well as meeting a group of friends to hang out with and have some amazing food and drink. And for those that haven’t been in in a while the first thing you’ll notice is that Costa Sur has under gone a major remodel and tripled its size! They now have a full bar that is proudly stocked and bartenders that defiantly know how to make all your favorite drinks and then some; which we had to test! Of course patio seating is available too and we highly recommend making reservations!
From the Hostess to the wait staff to the chefs, really just everyone will meet you with a smile and answer every question you have. We had a lot of questions about Peruvian food as this was a brand new adventure for our taste buds! When we went, we were met by owner Alonso Mackrizz who explained that his brother Nick Mackrizz, the Executive Chef and mastermind behind the fusion, was off for the night. It’s always a bummer when we don’t meet the Executive Chef; however his staff had us in their capable hands and between them and Alfonso all of our questions were answered. The first thing they had to do was explain Ceviche… a way of curing the fish in the citrus juices, like cold cooking, and that’s why the fish is highly infused with the flavors. Oh and is it ever!!
We followed all of Alonso’s recommendations, because as I said we were newbies! We started our meal with Ceviche Fusion which is a twist to traditional Ceviche with mangoes and avocados. Ours was with red snapper and if I had been at home I probably would have licked my plate. The twang in the citrus and fish were perfectly mellowed by the avocado and sweet mango. The chips were good, but the sweet potatoes were outstanding! So good that my husband asked for the recipe! And I’ve been trying to get him to eat sweet potatoes for years! Anyway, they bake them with a coconut milk, cinnamon, sugar coating and WOW! I could have stopped at this point and been a very happy camper, but no! There was more to come!
That’s when they brought out our meals. The first thing you notice is how exquisite the plates look and the scents were enough to drive you crazy, but in a good way. We had to think twice before pouncing, just in case people were watching! Now if you remember, the big rule to a Foodie is that everyone at the table gets to try all the meals. That way we get to tell you about a number of items on the menu and not just one. This was a very hard to follow rule! Because no matter which item you started with, it was wonderful and we didn’t want to move on! So I started with the Peruvian Poke. This is a very traditional style meal, but with flair! Sashimi sliced fresh yellow fin tuna served over white rice drizzled with hot sesame oil, leche de tigre soy sauce, mangoes, and avocados. Heaven. My favorite.
Next I stalked the Pescado Saltado! It comes with your choice of fish, so we stayed with the red snapper which was seasoned in Costa Sur’s chili mix, sautéed, and served over white rice with aji amarillo dressing. This was my favorite. The flavors were mixed just right, nothing over powering the others and the texture of the fish and rice… Perfect! Lesha had been waiting to try the next meal, so she was thrilled Alonso had suggested it, Lomo Saltado. It was fun to watch them prepare the tenderloin as it flamed up in the wok with tomatoes and onions. This is then served over rice and homemade French fries with a sunny side up egg resting on the top; until you poke the egg yolk and it drizzles down the mountain of tenderloin adding its rich flavor. I take it back, this was my favorite!
As we started to dig into the Fish Tacos, made with red snapper (again, our choice) seared with peppers and topped with mango, avocado, salsa criolla, and spicy mayo Alonso told us the story of how they were added to the menu… It wasn’t too long after they had opened the doors of Costa Sur and, of course at the end of a busy day. Just as they were about to close a woman came in and asked Nick if she could get fish tacos, which wasn’t on the menu. Well, he’d had an idea for this but hadn’t presented it yet, so he whipped up a plate for her. She claimed they were the best fish tacos she’d ever had, so after she left Nick made some for everyone to try and she was right! Fish Tacos were instantly added to the menu. Hmm, I think this is my favorite!
15113 S Padre Island Dr, #101 CC TX
361-945-8303
