Monday, October 5, 1998
Caffe Paradiso authenticates home-style Italian cuisine
FOOD: Personable family ambiance enhances taste of Mediterranean
dining
By Laura Noguera
Daily Bruin Contributor
It’s not a happening, loud environment and it does not have as
many tables as the Cheers restaurant.
Tucked into its own corner off San Vicente Boulevard, it’s even
slightly difficult to find. But once inside, Caffe Paradiso somehow
becomes a place where everybody knows your name.
In the style of a European, family-owned cafe, the four-table
interior convinces visitors that the owner and his family live
right upstairs. Greetings and services are friendly as well as
personal, as waitresses find more to discuss than the menu and
drinks.
Customers’ eyes will pause on the large, protruding deli case
packed with panini and an impressive selection of Italian drinks.
Aranciata and limonata, and orange and lemon sodas are always
favorite drinks in Italian restaurants, but Caffe Paradiso claims
the latest trend in Italy is chinotto, a tangy soda in which the
tastes of egg nog and Coca-Cola intertwine.
Caffe Paradiso’s cuisine does not only consist of Italian food.
In the cafe’s Tunisi via Roma style, chefs bridge the tastes of the
Mediterranean, providing on alternating weeknights special dishes
from each of the countries touching the Mediterranean Sea. From
Spain, Caffe Paradiso brings paella, and, from Italy, polenta.
Sometimes the specials are slightly more unpredictable, such as
the lemon chicken from Morocco, in which chicken and olives are
seasoned, then topped with a fresh lemon. The cafe serves the end
result next to a heap of almond rice and both eggplant and tomato
pastes.
Selections from the regular menu include both Italian and
Tunisian cuisine, both rigatoni and falafel, ranging from $6 to
$12. Some dishes, such as the chouchouka and bread – a vegetable
stew served with buttered slices of pita – may be too spicy for
those with sensitive mouths but perfect for those who crave extreme
spice.
While the food is cooking, the sounds of the kitchen mix with
the piped-in voice of Italian singer Andrea Bocelli, while a large
poster of Roman apartments sparks memories and discussions about
past European visits.
In a true Italian eating experience, customers may eat inside
(over an orange checkered tile floor) or outside (where even each
table’s napkin holders are Italian imports).
Desserts such as the Southern Hospitality Chocolate and Red
Velvet Cakes are specially made for Caffe Paradiso’s
choco-holics.
Customers can also take the taste of Caffe Paradiso home to
their own kitchens in large jars of homemade marinara sauce – an
original, smooth sauce with an extra buttery kick.
While on most evenings Caffe Paradiso is a secluded and quiet
place, sometimes it’s the hippest restaurant on its block. Every
month, Caffe Paradiso hires live entertainment in the form of small
bands that play well past midnight. On those nights, the restaurant
provides only a trio of special, multi-course meals, which come in
meat, chicken and vegetarian incarnations.
With much room to fill at the family table, Caffe Paradiso
welcomes students’ tastes and requests, in hope that they will
flock more often to their little Mediterranean alley.
FOOD: Caffe Paradiso is located in the Brentwood Country Mart,
at the corner of 26th St. and San Vicente in Brentwood. For more
information, call (310) 394-7873. DAVID HILL
Caffe Paradiso patrons enjoy Italian cuisine in a cozy
atmosphere.
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© 1998 ASUCLA Communications Board