Last week we detailed what replaced the beloved but now closed Rudyโs Cafรฉ (The Hollows). This week, we look at Bonanza Bites and Cocktails at the corner of Beacon and Sacramento streets, long home to renowned burger joint R.F. OโSullivan & Son. Richard OโSullivan sold the building in 2021, and post-COVID the new ownership relaunched OโSullivanโs, but it soon closed. Then it became the Cornerstone, whose culinary crossover of New England comfort food and Hawaiian fare we particularly liked. But less than a year later, the proprietors departed for Harvard Square to take on Charlieโs Kitchen.
The folks behind Bonanza โ who have ties to Yume Wo Katare โ have made wholesale changes. Gone at long last are the battered barstools that had outlasted OโSullivanโs. The center bar and the open, rear wall kitchen are still in the same locations, but totally redone. The dรฉcor โ as one might expect โ has Latin American accents. The effect is cozy, refreshed and festively vibrant. You can see and feel the care and pride that went into the upgrade.
Foodwise, youโre getting a panoply of Central and South American tapas โ โbitesโ in Bonanza parlance. There are traditional takes done well โ the birria empanadas, golden, crisp and juicy, arepa sliders and maciitos (Colombian street food โ shaved corn with butter, cheese and paprika) and the cachapa con queso (Venezuelan corn pancakes stuffed Oaxaca cheese). Intriguing spins on cuisine staples include yucca fries gone truffle, and if you like nachos, how about chips de betabel, beet chips and goat cheese? Then there are the pinchos โ or meat skewers โ that come in shrimp, pork belly, sirloin and veggie variations. The camarones come nicely slathered in a garlic butter sauce and are tender and plump while the pichana (steak) is garnished with an Argentinian chimichurri sauce.
Some top tapas dishes
Menu standouts are the gnocchi de plรกtano maduro, a Caribbean take on the Italian pillow pasta built on plantains instead of potato as its base, plus a savory, braised short rib ragout. (Maduro is not a reference to current events; it means โripe.โ) The dish is rich yet light, hearty and masculine, yet demure and delicate โ the meat is fork tender and unctuous.
The other secret weapon on the menu is the causa acevichada, fresh whitefish cerviche atop a cold mashed potato pancake (the causa) with a zesty lime juice infused with chili and adorned with fresh cilantro and diced onions โ heaven on a fork with a cool spicy bite to it.
Cocktail wise, Bonanza has a short list of signature cocktails crafted before your eyes (sitting at the center bar is a must if youโre a party of one or two). If you like Old Fashioneds or bourbon drinks, youโre in for a treat with the Guardia, which uses Mandarin-infused bourbon. Smooth and simple, it has a speakeasy essence to it, apt for a drink whose name translates as โlairโ or โhideaway.โ For wines, the slate is loyal to Bonanzaโs culinary mission with reds from Mexico and a white from Argentina.
Be sure to save room for the passionfruit tres leches cake, a revelatory confluence of moist cake and pleasingly pungent fruit, yet perplexingly light for such a rich and complex palette of ingredients.
Bonanzaโs a bounty of gastronomic curios where you can mix and match, sample and share, and look forward to coming back to try more.
Bonanza Bites & Cocktails, 282 Beacon St., Somerville
Cambridge writer Tom Meekโs reviews, essays, short stories and articles have appeared in WBURโs The ARTery, The Boston Phoenix, The Boston Globe, The Rumpus, The Charleston City Paper and SLAB literary journal. Tom is also a member of the Boston Society of Film Critics and rides his bike everywhere.
A stronger
Please consider making a financial contribution to maintain, expand and improve Cambridge Day.
We are now a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and all donations are tax deductible.
Please consider a recurring contribution.
