Madison has welcomed Brazilian and Peruvian restaurants in the recent past. Now El Corral, which opened last month in the former Runway on Packers Avenue, defines itself as the city's first Latin American restaurant, offering food from 14 countries: Peru, Honduras, Paraguay, Brazil, Panama, Nicaragua, Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Colombia, Chile and Venezula.

If you're a fan of Inka Heritage, the Peruvian restaurant on South Park Street, you'll probably like El Corral, because its chef is Maritza Paz, who moved from Miami to help open Inka Heritage. At El Corral, she is introducing at least 50 Latin American classics at the new restaurant, which is owned by Francisco Tejeda, who operated Hispana Grocery on East Washington Avenue for nine years.

The globe-trotting menu rarely mentions the nation of origin, which I would enjoy knowing. The descriptions, though, are thorough and accurate, except where "fish" is used without mentioning a species.

Some of the long menu's most interesting items are appetizers, which are divided into cold and hot categories, many with avocado, potato and fish, including ceviche. Aguacate Relleno is a an excellent cold appetizer that combines perfectly ripened avocado with chicken and pea salad with house-made mayonnaise. Even better is the Aguacate Olancho Libre, a hot appetizer with avocado stuffed with shrimp in a creamy Parmesan sauce.

Parihuela de Mariscos ("Aphrodisiac seafood soup"), at $12.95 contains so much crab, shrimp, mussels, calamari, and fish that it's hard to imagine the restaurant is making a profit on the entree. The seafood is fresh and perfectly cooked in light orange broth with lots of cilantro.

Also outstanding is the Tacu Tacu con Chuletitas de Cordero, with four pieces of moist, extremely tender lamb on the bone in a dense, wonderful cilantro sauce. Tacu tacu means crispy rice and beans, despite the fact that there's nothing crispy about them, but they are smoky-tasting and exceptionally good, which is also true of the sweet fried plantain, which is crispy. Another pleasant surprise were wisps of cold, marinated onion that delicately enhanced everything they touched.

Tacu tacu is also a highlight of the Lo Lomo Montado "El Corral" which contains a good-sized pieces of tenderloin in a light creole sauce, with plaintain and garnished with an egg over easy.

I suspect the kitchen might have been running low on chicken on the evening I ordered Aji de Pollo, which is shredded chicken with Peruvian yellow peppers, thick slices of potato, Parmesan cheese, a rice timbale, and a sprinkling of minced pecan in a heavy yellow cream sauce. Finding chicken required a hunt.

The desserts, such as flan and rice pudding, are familiar from Mexican restaurants, though the Encanelado got an extra kick from Pisco Peruvian brandy over a vanilla and cinnamon cake with a heavy cream filling.

The furniture at El Corral is not particularly comfor-table for tall people, but is certain to make the restaurant popular for families with children. The chairs are hand-carved in Ecuador, each with a different indigenous bird or animal (with wild boars aplenty), while the tables are cross-sections of tree trunks.

Restaurant: El Corral

Location: 3302 Packers Ave.

Specialties: Latin American cuisine

Phone: 242-9799

Hours: Opens at 11 a.m. aily. Closes 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, midnight Friday and Saturday and 8 p.m. Sunday

Price range: Appetizers $4 to $10; soups $4 to $13; entrees $7 to $14; desserts $4 to $5 

Smoking: No

Credit cards: Accepted

Accessibility: Back entrance is accessible

Reservations: Accepted

Bottom line: A long and interesting menu, good cooking and service. Inexpensive, and recommended for families with children and vegetarians.