The Miami Herald from Miami, Florida • E3

Just as the sun sets on Lincoln Road, Panizza turns into La Tasca. Music and candles complete the Argentine transition to the sort of rustic Spanish tapas and wine bar for which La Tasca is named. Its chef, Fernando Echeverri, is from Pamplona in northern Spain near Basque Country. His parents entertained a lot, and he became his sous chef. Grown and working as a musician, he headed to New York in the early 1980s, and hung out at a restaurant where a friend tended bar.

When the cook quit, he took over the kitchen, later getting formal training at the New York Restaurant School. Three months ago he worked out the tapas arrangement with owners. food is vibrant, with balanced flavors influenced by nueva cocina vasca new Basque cuisine that borrowed from French nouvelle cooking. Order a glass of Txakoli wine with citrusy notes and tiny bubbles to enjoy with grilled chipi- rones (tender baby squid) on a bed of leeks with a drizzle of lemon garlic oil. Cold tapas include cured cod fish salad with chickpeas, thinly sliced sea scallops in a light dressing of olive oil and aged vinegar and piquillo peppers stuffed with tuna tartare mixed with garlic aioli and tiny capers.

Bombas de queso brings fried goat cheese balls with orange blossom honey. Grilled octopus is plated over diced potato and sliced celery, red onions and peppers with semi-sweet Mos- catel vinegar. Breaded and fried oysters come on a hash of potato and spicy chistorra sausage. Pinxto are Basque crostini with various toppings. Try spicy chocolate sauce with chorizo or sardines with roasted tomatoes.

Gateau vasque is an almond cake filled with patissiere spiked with rum and orange zest. If food has rhythm, it sings here. Linda latest book is and Caribbean Grocery Stores A FORK ON THE ROAD At sundown, tapas come out at La Tasca OFF THE GRILL: An octopus tapa with peppers, potatoes and olives LINDA THE MIAMI HERALD APPETIZER BASQUE BREAD WITH TOMATOES (PA AMB TOMAQUET) This simple appetizer may be topped with slices of cured meat for a heartier tapa. 8 1 2 -inch thick) slices country-style bread 2 large garlic cloves, halved lengthwise 2 large, ripe tomatoes, halved crosswise 2 tablespoons olive oil Salt and freshly ground pepper Toast bread. Vigorously rub garlic, cut side down, on one side of toast.

Rub each tomato half onto the toast, squeezing juice, seeds and pulp onto the toast. Discard skin. Drizzle each slice with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Makes 4 servings. Source: Adapted from Williams Sonoma Taste Magazine (2001).

Per Serving: 352 calories (20 percent from fat), 7.8 fat (0.9 saturated, 4.9 monounsaturated), 0 cholesterol, 10.6 protein, 48.9 carbohydrates, 2.8 fiber, 523 mg sodium. If you go Place: La Tasca Tapas at Panizza Address: 1229 Lincoln Miami Beach Contact: 305-695-8800 Hours: Sunday-Thursday, 6-midnight Friday and Saturday Prices: Tapas crostini desserts FYI: Live Flamenco with paella Wednesday nights; catering available. MIAMI BEACH: Chef Fernando Echeverri with one of his tapas, stuffed piquillo peppers. Linda Bladholm Husband-and-wife team Tuan Truong and Lien Pham knew they would have to do something a little differentto stand out amid the hundreds of Asian restaurants in Broward. So their East West Cafe covers a lot of territory, with stops in Thailand, Indonesia, China, Malaysia, Korea and the native Vietnam.

What also helps separate the 50-seat restaurant from the pack is that the sauces and vegetables (from Whole Foods) are organic, MSG used, and you can order dishes like pho, a traditional Vietnamese soup, with tofu. About the only major Asian item noticeably missing at East West is sushi, but one of best Japanese restaurants, Marumi Sushi, is in the same Plantation plaza. Open nearly seven months, East West looks like a basic storefront, but inside cheery and colorful, with brick walls, abstract art and red paper decorations you might find in a Chinese restaurant. Servers are charming and helpful, and keep the meal well-paced, with water glasses always full. Pham admits she know much about wine, so tell people they can bring their she says, with no corkage fee.

You will find sake, plum wine and a few Asian beers including Tsingtao and 33 (the name, read, has something to do with the original bottle size). If overwhelmed by the extensive menu, pictures of several dishes are posted at the booths in the center of the restaurant. One of our favorites is a starter, the Saigon crepe, with turmeric giving the rice flour shell its bright yellow color. filled with sliced chicken, shrimp, yellow mung beans, onions, Chinese mushrooms and lots of bean sprouts. Cut off a bite and wrap it in a lettuce leaf.

Satay brings two skewers of juicy, grilled chicken served with sweet-and-sour cucumber and curry sauces. Fried wontons are fine, but the fried egg rolls are a better splurge, packed with lean pork, shredded jicama and other veggies. Other starters are steamed or pan-fried pot stickers and fresh spring rolls. Agenerous bowl of pho(just $8) brings thin beef slices (our choice) and rice noodles in a broth heady with anise, cilantro and lime. Bean sprouts, basil leaves, a slice of lime and fresh chile peppers come on the side add to your content.

We liked the Malaysian noodles, a flavorful dish of pan-fried noodles spiked with garlic, shallots, Chinese sausage, bean sprouts, broccoli and soy sauce and topped with a fried egg. Sumptuous red curry is a little thicker than typical Thai versions, made with a house-made red chile paste and creamy coconut milk. And fragrant garlic bean sauce elevates a simple stir fry with veggies, chicken and rice. Fans of Korean cuisine will find its famed barbecue beef and the noodle dish chap che. East dessert list is limited but intriguing.

Sticky mango rice is rendered green by pandan leaves that look like little feather dusters. Adventurous eaters may want to try the robustly flavored black rice pudding, tender from long cooking, served with coconut milk, peanuts and a dusting of sesame seeds. Vietnamese dishes dominate the menu at East West, yet globe trotters are bound to find the cafe atrip worth taking. BROWARD REVIEW East West Cafe a pan-Asian pleasure BY ROCHELLE KOFF PLANTATION: Chef-owner Tuan Truong presents his Saigon crepe, filled with sliced chicken, shrimp, yellow mung beans, onions, mushrooms and bean sprouts. CANDACE THE MIAMI HERALD If you go Place: East West Cafe Address: 8257 W.

Sunrise Plantation Rating: (Very Good) Contact: 954-476-4545 Hours: 11a.m.-9:30 p.m. Monday- Thursday, 11a.m.-10:30 p.m. Friday- Saturday, p.m. Sunday Prices: Appetizers soups and salads entrees desserts FYI: Beer and wine, sake; no corkage fee. AX, DS, MC, VS LAMB GAI: The meat salad includes roasted rice, mint, cilantro, shallot, lime juice, fish sauce and palm sugar.

MiamiHerald.com/dining for West Dolce Vita Page: 1stSection, change THE MIAMI HERALD H1 THURSDAY, MAY 5, 3E Seeking something unique to sip this Cinco de Mayo? Camarena Margarita, with pure agave nectar, Camarena tequila and Cointreau, should do the trick. Salud! D.I.Y. Camarena Margarita Combine 2 ounces Camarena Silver Tequila, the juice of 1 2 each lime, lemon and orange, 1 2 ounce Cointreau and 1 2 ounce pure agave nectar in an ice-filled shaker. Shake vigorously. Strain over ice into a chilled rocks glass with a salted rim.

Garnish with an orange slice. F.Y.I. The drink is $11at Restaurant, 3101Ponce De Leon Coral Gables; 305446-1400. Rodriguez Miami.com CLINK! A toast to May 5 The goods: The aptly named Pied a Terre is tucked away in the intimate Cadet Hotel in South Beach with 10 tables, seating for about 30 and an atmosphere cozy enough to be the private dining room of a Miami socialite. The upscale service matches the setting the maitre as well as chef Andrew Balik hail from Azul and reservations are a must.

The place is too tiny for walk-ins. Ambience: On the second floor of the 1930s boutique hotel, the genteel space is done in soft lights, beige banquettes and wicker chairs. Music volume is set to a conversation-friendly level and, once construction ends on James Avenue, there are plans for an outdoor table in the lush garden. The grub: Eclectic Mediterranean. The concise menu, which changes daily, consists of eight starters and six mains.

Prices are on par with cushy hotel spots: starters are mains also a six- course tasting menu available nightly. Wines are reasonably priced with bottles starting at $23. Dinner begins with slices of crusty baguettes and a round of French butter. Starters include a Paradise Farms baby lettuce salad and American osetra caviar with homemade blini. The local fish ceviche (cobia or hog snapper) is spiked with habaneros, cilantro and popcorn.

Lobster and spring pea tortellini is a petite bowl of pasta stuffed with pea puree and mascarpone tossed with lobster meat bathed in truffle butter. Mains include a wine-braised Niman Ranch short rib with potato puree and an Alaskan halibut with grilled shrimp and toasted pita topped with tapenade. Desserts include house-made fig ice cream, a flaming brulee, sweet and spicy beignets and a dense chocolate mousse. The verdict: A genteel, date- friendly spot tucked away from the chaos of South Beach. Liss Miami.com Pied a Terre, 1701James Miami Beach; 305-531-4533.

FIRST LOOK Chef Andrew Balik A SoBe hideaway.