Husband and wife team Christopher and Veronica Laramie closed the high end eVe restaurant on New Year’s Eve, and reopened in the same space on Tuesday with a new concept: Brasa. Drawing from Veronica’s Peruvian roots, the new menu now includes items like the sweet-salty-slightly spicy Lomo Saltado sandwich ($8, Hanger steak, red onion, tomato, lettuce, parsley, soy sauce). But it’s the rotisserie chicken that steals the show. First of all, the Half Chicken with 2 small sides ($11.50) was a huge portion. And, you know the chef is talented when even the breast is juicy. Everything is housemade from the 3 different sauces (aji amarillo, rocoto, huacatay) to the 2 refreshing juices (Chicha Morada – purple corn and Maracuya – passion fruit). Dessert is an experience in itself: the soft serve ice cream is made with Lócuma, a Peruvian fruit that tasted kind of like sweet potato, but the Alfajores (gooey dulce de leche between two crisp sugar cookies) were amazingly delicious. You know, that take-a-bite-and-roll-your-eyes kind of delicious. I also love how the Laramies don’t “name drop” on the menu. If you didn’t read the list of purveyors on the wall, you wouldn’t know the chickens are sourced from Mary’s, the beef and pork from Niman Ranch and the soft serve base from Straus. Our only complaint about the whole experience was a tiny one (literally). The water glasses were small. All in all, I think the new restaurant will be an incredible success.
1960 University Ave, Berkeley
510-868-0735
photo: Christina Mitchell
Christina Mitchell
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