Compare: Karibe/Sunrise
www.sun-sentinel.com Posted March 14 2003
You can exercise the adventurous side of your palate as well as your high-school Spanish at Karibe, where plates of tequenos y pasteles and arepitas con nata arrive alongside bandeja paiza, pabellon nacional and parrilla criolla. Huh?
Don't fret if you didn't get most of that. It's tricky -- unless you're well versed in the cuisines of Venezuela, Columbia and Cuba. If not, look to the helpful staff at this friendly spot. They'll explain the menu (in Spanish with English subtitles) with as much detail as you're willing to take in. The result should add up to a better understanding of three cuisines, and, perhaps, your new found status as an aficionado.
You might recognize the word tostones on this menu, but you probably haven't had them the way they make them here -- Caracas-style. Listed as an appetizer ($5.99), the portion is enough to share with several people or can be a meal in itself since it fills up a dinner-size plate with layers of goodies. The base is large discs of crisply fried green plantains topped with shredded lettuce, peppers, onions, enough shredded beef (ropa vieja) to more than satisfy, a dusting of Parmesan cheese, and several plops of yellow ballpark mustard, of all things. Pick it up and eat it like pizza or with a knife and fork and enjoy this multidimensional discovery of textures and flavors.
If you visit when the Columbian gem ajico is the soup du jour ($2.99 per cup; $4.99 bowl), you're in for a treat. The broth is clear and flavorful, filled with boneless chicken breast, potatoes and sliced corn on the cob. A taste delight in itself -- even better with two accompanying accoutrements -- a dollop of rich crèma (the Mexican version of crème fraiche) and capers.
Even the house empanadas ($1) are a different experience from the norm. These tidy packages have a gritty corn meal crust instead of the usual flour dough and are plump with nicely seasoned ground meat and potatoes.
Or, enjoy queso frito ($2.99), delicious triangles of fried queso blanco that pulls like taffy when you eat it. Tequenos y pastels ($5.99), golden brown fried dough twisted attractively around more queso blanco makes great finger food, but my favorite first course is cachapas -- a Venezuelan style open-face arepa ($4.50). The foundation is a sweet corn studded crisp fried pancake (like the best corn fritter you ever ate) topped with cheese and ham, pork, chicken or beef.
Regular arepas are more like sandwiches ($2.50 with any of the same fillings) and come wrapped in deli paper, while arepitas ($3.50) are mini versions of the bigger model.
For a garlic-lover's main course, have filet de pollo ajillo ($7.95) a massive portion of sauteed chicken breast fillets in telltale garlic sauce with peppers and onions.
There's also good churrasco ($9.95) and lechon asado ($7.95), or try a Columbian country platter -- a steal at $8.50 for a feast of thin cut pork chops, chicharrones, a palomilla steak, a meaty chorizo chub and arepitas -- all topped with a fried egg. There's a similar platter from Venezuela called parrilla criolla ($11.95), another meat-eaters smorgasbord with some of the same ingredients as well as grilled chicken breast.
We loved the full flavors of the tomato based sauce in cazuela de mariscos ($10.95), a stewlike combination of mussels, squid, fish chunks, scallops, tiny shrimp and imitation crab. But most of the seafood was overcooked by American standards.
Most desserts don't match the rest of the meal and that's too bad. The flan de caramelo we did try ($2.50) was uneventful, as was tres leches ($2.50). Skip dessert and concentrate on the rest of the tasty geographical menu at this melting pot dedicated to Latin American fare.
Please phone in advance to confirm information on hours, prices, menu items and facilities. For review consideration, please fax a current menu that includes name and address of restaurant to 954-356-4386 or send to Sun-Sentinel, 200 E. Las Olas Blvd., Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301-2293.
If you would like to contact dining correspondent Judith Stocks, e-mail her at judithstocksreviews@yahoo .com or write to her in care of the Sun-Sentinel.