Review by Rhett Butler

Back to Table of Contents | Back to Main Index Previous Reviews | Send mail to The Voice Pambiche serves dishes with a tropical cuban flare Colorful works of art hang on the walls at Pambiche. -Thomas Moss, photo Desi Arnaz, Fidel Castro, cigars, communism and the 1962 missile crisis are all most Americans know of Cuba. Anyone who cares to discover more has an opportunity to do so down the street at the colorful Pambiche restaurant at 2811 N.E. Glisan St. Inside the somewhat cramped restaurant, bright reds, yellows, purples and teals blaze on the walls behind bold, original Cuban and Latin American works of art, which are for sale. High above the 35 seats inside Pambiche, hanging tropical fish mobiles add even more color to an eye-opening but tasteful atmosphere. Above a wine rack at the back of the restaurant, a muted television set is tuned to Latin music videos, and Cuban music pours through the public address system. The menu, full of salads ($3-$5), "Empanadas" (Iberian meat pie meals, $6-$7.50), larger entrees ($7-$17) and desserts ($2.50-$5.50), includes a few words about Cuban Creole cuisine: "The cuisine of Cuba, commonly termed 'comida criolla,' is a result of European influence on New World conditions. "With roots not only in European, but also African and Indigenous Caribbean cooking, Cuban Creole cuisine is a seasoned combination of tropical elements." Lourdes, one of the waitresses at Pambiche, grew up in Puerto Rico and remarked that the food she serves authentically represents Latin American food. She said that people come in thinking that the food is similar to what Taco Bell offers, but she tells them, "We don't have nachos, and we absolutely do not have anything wrapped in a tortilla." The $7.50 Picadillo Empanada dinner consisted of an Italian calzoni-like pie stuffed with "prime Cuban beef hash, Mediterranean herbs and vegetables, splashed with sherry wine and Spanish olive sofrito." It was served promptly on a plate decorated with a large red cabbage-and-carrot salad doused with orange vinaigrette dressing and piled like a purple-and-orange conical haystack. The dish included breaded fries called tostones, which come from the banana family. Lemon, lime and orange garnish added a tropical flair. A $2.50 Café Cubano Chocolate came with whipped cream and chocolate shavings in a large fuchsia mug. This hot drink had a smooth, silky texture, as if a chocolate bar had just been melted into the mug. Dessert options include a dish of flan, which has a real caramelized sugar sauce that cascades down the sides of rich, thick, homemade Cuban custard. The flan rings in at $4. "Pambiche," a play on words based on the English term "Palm Beach," refers to a type of merengue music. During "La Hora del Amigo" (happy hour), which runs weekdays from 2 p.m.-6 p.m., Pambiche offers an extensive menu of ensaladas, empanadas, and appetizers with no one item costing more than $2. This small, cramped restaurant sporting an obscure style of food and colorful character deserves a high recommendation. The restaurant is open Sunday through Thursday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., and Friday-Saturday, 11 a.m. to midnight. They do not take checks or reservations but will accept Visa and Mastercard. Back to Table of Contents | Back to Main Index Previous Reviews | Top Of Page Send mail to The Voice| Journalism department website © 2003 The Voice. No part of this publication may be reproduced in written or electronic form without prior written consent from the journalism adviser of Multnomah Bible College. All rights reserved.