CULINARY EXPLORATION | Eva’s Caribbean Kitchen – All the Rum without All Those Pesky Pirates by Melissa Sherman Pearl
There’s a reason why Eva’s Caribbean Kitchen in Laguna Beach has been one of my favorite restaurants for many, many moons. As Eva warmly welcomes you into in her colorful kitchen, your senses are instantly enraptured by the vast array of delicious spicy, sweet scents, vibrant colors, and jubilant music. But as the libations and apps are served, all of the aforementioned simply becomes fluff because the mouth just gets so darned happy.
On this rare girls’ night out, my friends and I started out with Brown Suga (12 year old rum, sweet & sour, squeeze of lime), Pomegranate Martini, a traditional rum-infused Cuban Mojito, and a glass of Estancia Pinot Noir which we knocked back with the savory Aubergine Choka, a Trinidadian dish featuring flame roasted garlic-stuffed eggplant stuffed sautéed with shallots, chilies, onions and seasonings, and served with toasted pita. Such a treat, this dish, and not a whole lot of guilt to accompany it.
Daryl said her Cornmeal Louisiana Catfish fillet seasoned with garlic, shallots, thyme, scallions, chilies, Bacardi Limon 
and coated in cornmeal was scrumptious while Allison was blown away by how flaky and flavorful her Creole Stewed Fish (Australian orange roughy marinated in Caribbean fish seasonings and stewed in Creole Voodoo sauce) was. I always say I’m gonna venture out and get something new but, like the saying goes, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it so I enjoyed the fresh Atlantic Blackened Salmon dredged in a slightly kicky house Cajun spice blend, seared in a black French skillet, oven roasted and then served with a passion fruit, mango, and grilled pineapple and pepper relish. Karen got the Madras Curry Red Snapper (a special, I think) and thoroughly enjoyed the rich fusion of flavors. All of our dishes were accompanied by a sautéed medley of julienned vegetables, Caribbean rice, and the kind of sweet plantains you continue to crave the next day.
Not that we had any right to move on to dessert but I couldn’t let any of us leave without Eva’s freshly concocted treats. While we did ooh and ah over the Banana Passion Flambé (sliced bananas sautéed in passion fruit liquor, sweet butter, brown sugar, set ablaze with dark rum, and served with vanilla ice cream), we opted to go a different direction. The creamy, crunchy Coconut Crème Brule graced our spoons as did the Chocolate Bread Pudding. The warm mix of dark chocolate, eggs, dried-up golden grapes, currants, rum, nutmeg and cinnamon couldn’t be more delicious however when served a la mode, the contrasting temperatures and flavors bring everything to a level that can only be described as heavenly.
Eva’s Caribbean Kitchen serves dinner after 5:00 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday and occasionally hosts fun themed events. Chocolate and rum have been honored. And next time, Flambé.
Hailing from the entertainment biz, Melissa moved to Orange County 10 years ago and started life as a freelancer. A regular contributor to California Homes Magazine, her work has been featured in Frommer’s California for Dummies, Luxe, a slew of other glossies, and she edited the book The First 8 Days of Being a Mom. She also enjoys crafting marketing materials for her rather diverse roster of clients. HAUTEOC TRAVELER profile: “Explorer. I’d rather spend time someplace and get to know it inside and out than just pop in, look around and pop out.”
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