A Sonata in Davie Major

Comments (0) By D.B. Tipmore Thursday, Oct 7 2004

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Among entrées, the specials are a big draw, full of surprising choices and reasonable prices. The $19.75 Florida grouper -- flaky, tender, fresh -- was served under a shrimp cream sauce in which pieces of the crustaceans floated generously in the buttery béchamel. A huge piece of delicious and hard-to-find yellowtail snapper ($20.75), covered in a rich lemon-based cream sauce, came with a tasty mélange of julienned al dente vegetables and yellow rice. The rack of lamb ($20.75) had a mustard and herb crust that made our table turn miraculously into a lazy Susan. Only the osso buco ($18.75) seemed bland and unloved by the kitchen. The veal was well-cooked and not too fatty, but it could have used a serious dose of gremolata (garlic and lemon) to enhance the flavor of the meat before it was served.

No menu of a restaurant with the word Vienna in its name is worth its topfenknodel without decent desserts. The Viennese, famed for their sweets such as Sacher torte, would have clapped when they saw the large dessert tray Ralph brought to the table. (The choice of sweets changes daily.)

Joe Rocco

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Vienna Cafe & Wine Bar

9100 State Road 84
Davie, FL 33324

Category: Restaurant > American

Region: Davie/West Hollywood

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Lunch 11:30 a.m. till 2 p.m. Tuesday through Friday. Brunch 11 a.m. till 2:30 p.m. Sunday. Dinner 6:30 till 10:30 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, till 11:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, till 10:30 p.m. Sunday. (Sunset Special 4:30 till 6:30 p.m. Sunday through Friday.) Call 954-423-1961.

9100 State Rd. 84, Davie

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I'm not ordinarily a fan of Viennese desserts, but I'll ferret out a strudel like a diamond merchant checking out a gem. Among the ten choices on the tray, including tortes, a triple chocolate cake, and a fat little golden crème brulée, were an apple strudel and two kinds of cheesecake: Oreo and one with a turtle chocolate crust.

The lukewarm strudel ($5) was served with a scoop of ice cream that didn't hide the fact that it was only fair. The two cheesecakes (not made on the premises) were devoured by all at the table and finished the meal with a rich flourish. How's that for irony?

All in all, I feel about Vienna Café and Wine Bar much as I do about spending Christmas with certain relatives. It's not perfect (or Austrian, for that matter), but it gets to you in a real peace 'n' love kind of way. Peace and love. There are worse combinations -- I've eaten them.