Dining Out:

Have you ever had one of those nights where you know you want to go out to dinner but you’re not sure what kind of food you want? You hang around the house, going over your options and discussing other events of the week. Eventually, you realize it’s close to 9 p.m. and now you’re starving. Where can you go that’s delicious, casual and welcoming?

Lola’s Authentic Peruvian Cuisine is a comfortable spot in the heart of Glendale, just near the Alex Theatre. The brick walls, old wooden bar and cafe tables create a warm intimacy. Music, which is more like Cuban jazz than, say, Andean windpipes, pours from the speakers and fills your senses.

There’s no hurry here. If you’re one for fast, super-attentive service, this may not be the place for you. On the other hand, the restaurant is supposed to close at 10 p.m. but on the night we were there, at 10:30 nobody seemed in any hurry to leave. The wait staff didn’t seem to mind. Perhaps it’s the Peruvian way to take one’s time.

Every meal starts off with slices of French bread and their spicy, green aji sauce, a pureed mixture of cilantro, chilies and garlic. I suggest complementing it with a glass of my new favorite drink, Chicha Morada ($2), a blend of purple corn, pineapple, lemon, sugar and cinnamon. It looks like sangria and tastes like nothing you’ve had.

If you are a ceviche-lover, like me, you’ll want to take your time savoring the large plate offered at Lola’s. It’s slightly different than a Mexican ceviche. There are no tomatoes, and it’s not chopped into tiny bits.

Lola’s Ceviche de Pescado ($14.99) has fairly large chunks of raw, fresh white fish “cooked” in citrus juice and rocoto chili peppers, with the added embellishments of boiled sweet potato, thinly sliced red onion and two kinds of Peruvian corn. One of these corns is particularly fun to eat as the kernels are toasted and salted, a little like corn nuts. The overall flavor of this cold, refreshing specialty stays exciting until the last bite. The ceviche also comes in shrimp or mixed seafood ($14.99).

Other thrilling appetizers include Anticuchos (grilled beef hearts) ($6.99) and Pancitas (grilled honeycomb tripe) ($6.99), both of which are apparently hard to find in Los Angeles. I was a little too faint of heart to try them, but some readers may want to know.