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 entree 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

entrees, 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 entrees are served with fried plantain, rice and a

sauteed 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 flambe.

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: $18