Ciccheti Brunch at Bacari PDR (Playa Del Rey, CA)

Brunch at Bacari PDR in Playa Del Rey lets you try many different dishes with their chiccheti format. Each dish is a small plate that costs $7 each, or 3 for $19. On top of that, you can make it a boozy brunch. Get one hour's worth of bottomless pitchers of mimosa, bellini, or sangria for $15.

Since the chef, Lior Hillel, grew up in Israel, I wasn't surprised to find on the menu a Shakshouka (rustic tomato sauce, bell pepper, garlic, sous-vide egg, parsley)

Yes, I love my eggs in tomato sauce. The shakshouka is only slightly spicy so it's accessible to more palates. The bold flavors are great with the sliced bread.

They sometimes also have fun specials. That day's special: crab cake with poached egg, grapefruit hollandaise

This ended up being my favorite savory dish of the day, I hope they put it on the regular menu! The chef had put a generous amount of crab meat in the dish.

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Bacari PDR (Playa Del Rey, CA)

by guest blogger @btsunoda

I was delighted to see Bacari PDR take the place of what used to be Bistro Du Soleil in Playa del Rey. Even prior their occupancy, the location was pretty much known for its casual Sunday brunches. Bacari PDR was started by the team of Bobby Kronfli, Daniel Kronfli and executive chef Lior Hillel. The Kronfli brothers and Hillel also collaborated on Bacaro LA as well as Nature’s Brew. Both are located on Union Avenue near the University of Southern California.
 After occupying their Playa del Rey location, they decided to gut out the interior and add a rich dark wood look. The effective use of windows gave the interior a lot of natural light which gave the restaurant a classy casual feel. Actual wine bottles from their customers line the top of the ceiling of the restaurant.
 
Executive chef Lior Hillel, who also crafted the Bacaro L.A. menu, brings to Bacari PDR his takes on Mediterranean-inspired cicchetti, or small plates. After I had a chance to speak with him, I discovered that he takes feedback quite seriously and he blends his vision with the tastes of his local clientele. After seeing the small size of the kitchen, I was truly amazed to see the number of items on their menu. Our group had quite a bit to taste that evening:

The rainbow beet salad was full of color: red and yellow beets mixed with chevre goat cheese and freshly chopped tarragon with a roasted black peppercorn vinegar salad dressing. This was both tangy and sweet.
  
Crab crostini consisted of crab claw meat and charred poblano peppers with Chef Hillel’s dressing.
  
The crostini had plenty of fresh crab meat mixed in a creamy pepper dressing.

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