Eva’s offers a taste of the islands

Every night is like a party at Eva’s. You are welcomed with a hug and a radiant smile by the beautiful and charming hostess, which makes you feel that you are in for a good time. Choose between the patio, surrounded by trees and the sounds of a one-man steel drum band (on weekends) or in the high-ceilinged, brightly colored dining room festooned with charming Haitian tin cut-outs and vibrant ceramic faces.

Now that you’re comfortably seated in this cozy neighborhood eatery, the gracious Eva will offer to whip up one of her famous, potent libations. How about a pink punani, a mango tango or a shot from one of the 99 bottles of rum on the wall? In Guyana, where Eva was born, people are particular about rum the way Californians are about wine. So sit back, sip your drink and peruse the menu. As Eva says, “We are on Caribbean time. You can’t rush a good thing, you know. Like good loving, it takes time and care.”

Eva welcomes you as if she were inviting you into her home, and the food has a homey quality about it, too -- that is, if your mom was a fantastic Caribbean cook, which, in fact, hers was. When Eva first came to Laguna, she hung around the restaurant, which was then called Drew’s, because the food reminded her of her mother’s cooking. She occasionally helped out, later became a partner and eventually changed careers and bought the place. Then, with some help from her mom, the menu was reinvented.

Now that you are on to your second beverage, it might be time to order an appetizer or two. If you have trouble making up your mind, don’t worry, be happy -- they are all excellent and large enough to share. Next time, you can order the ones you missed. The punani shrimp are breaded with coconut and served with mango chutney. The shrimp are large, succulent and perfectly cooked, with the sweet chutney acting as a delightful accent. The crab and sweet corn cakes really taste like crab and not like bread. They have a lovely texture and a crunchy coating. For eggplant lovers, the very flavorful aubergine choka is a slightly smoky warm dip with hints of shallot, garlic and chilies served with pita triangles. For something light and healthy, the delicate callaloo soup is a complex broth filled with spinach and okra and a touch of coconut milk.

If you are on a date, be sure to order the conch fritters, also known as Caribbean Viagra, which taste good too. These crispy fritters are chock full of chewy bits of conch. Three entrée salads are offered, two of which can be ordered as a dinner salad. To the island Caesar, you may add jerk chicken. The punani greens feature the coconut shrimp and the St. Martin is a mixed green salad with pineapple. It has a refreshing, sweet-tart passion fruit and raspberry vinaigrette, but the salad was drowning in dressing.

When Eva was a little girl in Guyana, the local fisherman would stop by the house every day with their catch, so she grew up with very high standards for fish. This passion drives her to journey to the L.A. airport regularly to pick up her fish, right off the plane. That explains in part why her fish and seafood dishes are so scrumptious. Outstanding among the main courses is the Creole stewed fish. The very moist orange roughy is lightly braised in a delectable tomato-onion Creole sauce.

The chef’s deft hand with fish appears again with the extravagant Chilean sea bass. The only dish we found disappointing was the Louisiana-style catfish. The fish itself was excellent, but the cornmeal crust wasn’t crusty; in fact, it was soft. Of the 12 entrées, seven are spicy, spicier or hot as hell, as indicated by symbols on the menu. For non-fish-lovers, the chicken stew is a wonderful home-style dish, in a multilayered, long-simmered sauce including onions, garlic, ginger and tomatoes that you must taste to appreciate.

There are also three very spicy jerk presentations: chicken, steak and pork. Jerk is a Caribbean spice rub, used primarily for grilling. Each is served with a contrasting and cooling chutney or fruit salsa. There are two preparations of salmon (blackened or barbecued), two of catfish (blackened or cornmeal-crusted) and two curries (prawn and chicken). All entrées are served with fried plantain, rice and a sautéed vegetable. The garlic spinach was splendid.

If you still have room for dessert, Eva makes all her own, except the gelato. Choose between the luscious guava-flavored cheesecake with real guava topping, the tart and silky key lime pie, hearty chocolate bread pudding, peach cobbler or banana passion flambé.

To cap off a pleasure-filled evening, try a small glass of rum cream, an after dinner drink with tantalizing overtones of toffee.

As we were bidding our delightful hostess goodnight, we just had to ask, “What exactly does punani mean, anyway?” She smiled like a Cheshire cat and replied, “Just what you think it means ... a beautiful flower.”

IF YOU GO

WHAT: Eva’s: A Caribbean Kitchen

WHERE: 31732 S. Coast Highway, (949) 499-6311

WHEN: Dinner only, Sunday through Thursday, 5 to 9 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 5 to 10 p.m.

COSTS: Appetizers and soup: $3.25 to $12.

Salads: $4 to $12

Entrees: $17.99 to $26, except sea bass at market price

Desserts: $3.50 to $7

Wine: $18 to $90

By the glass: $5 to $9

Corkage fee: $1820051014ioa76tkn(LA)Crab cakes with fresh mango salsa and cocktails made with guava are specialties of the house at Eva’s: A Caribbean Kitchen.20051014imh5ntnc(LA)20051014imh5ognc(LA)