Bash / Sunrise
Important: This article was last updated on September 11, 2009. Please call ahead to confirm hours, prices, dates and other information.
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First impression: A nondescript shopping center with few other tenants is where this unassuming neighborhood gem makes its home.
Ambience: Don't let the drab black oilcloth-covered tables and dim atmosphere dissuade you. Co-owners Veronica Lopez and chef Nikki Pettineo present a menu sparkling with originality and flair.
Starters: House-made hummus ($7) doesn't suffer the usual over-pureeing and includes pleasantly stinging kimchi sauce drizzled on top. Excellent drunken goat salad ($9) calls for marinating a goat cheese disk in red wine until you actually taste the wine. The cheese is dredged in chopped nuts and then warmed. It's paired with candied pecans, dried cranberries, mesclun and house dressing with a well-tempered edge of vinegar.
Entree excellence: Rich, deeply developed flavors come from braising Fred Flintstone-sized beef short ribs in Mr. Pibb soda for hours before a grilled finish and embellishment with smidgens of homemade brick red barbecue sauce ($18). Boneless chicken breast ($13) brushed with sweet-sour-smoky apricot chipotle sauce and bits of creamy goat cheese wears a crown of intriguing dried red pepper threads. Just $10 buys penne in delicate lemon garlic sauce with roasted grape tomatoes, sauteed spinach and onions.
Sweet! I'm immediately sold by the dessert "Turn Your Frownie Upside-Downy," which tucks fudge brownies between wonton wrappers before deep frying. The trio of plump pillows is irresistible without being overly sweet. Rice pudding served in a martini glass is another delight. The luscious pudding is creamy, the rice perfectly soft, the blueberry compote spooned atop, divine. Each dessert is $6.
Service: Insights into ingredients and preparations, along with caring attention and a side of charm are provided by a wait staff that includes Federico Peña, who also happens to be Lopez's father.
Liquid assets: Sit at the eight-seat wine bar and sip selections from a small, but well chosen wine list starting at $22, with plenty available by the glass.
8067 W. Oakland Park Blvd., Sunrise
954-578-6700
bashwinecafeandcatering.com
Cuisine: American
Cost: inexpensive
Hours: lunch Tuesday-Saturday, dinner Tuesday-Sunday
Reservations: accepted
Credit cards: AE, D, MC, V
Bar: beer, wine
Sound level: quiet
Smoking: yes
For kids: boosters, high chairs, verbal menu
Wheelchair accessible: yes
— Judith Stocks
Contact dining correspondent Judith Stocks at judithstocksreviews@yahoo.com