Cafe Amici

Cafe at Bella Vista Country Club wins Best Burger in NWA Deal Piggy contest

Not many places can claim the local country club has the best burger in the region, but Bella Vista can now add that to their list of accolades. Known for a charming topography of rolling hills, abundant fairways and nearby lakes, Cafe Amici is helping put Bella Vista Country Club on the map as a destination for dining as well.

Cafe Amici was voted as the Favorite Burger and Fry combination in a recent competition hosted by NWA Deal Piggy.

Cafe Amici wins Best Burger in NWA Deal Piggy contest

The online daily deal website, nwadealpiggy.com, hosted an unprecedented deal for 10 burger and fry combos for $30.

The deal featured 10 area restaurants that served up their standard-order hamburger and French fries. After visiting each of the restaurants, customers submited their vote for the best burger and fries.

Cafe Amici was the top voted burger in the contest, ranking them as the Favorite Burger and Fry combination in the Deal Piggy Burger Contest.

The signature burger is a hefty, ½-lb. burger made with 100 percent Angus beef that is hand-pattied daily, in-house. The burger is topped with cheese and served with a choice of salad, soup or fries. Leaf lettuce, pickles and slices of tomato and onion finish the platter.

Cafe Amici serves brunch on Sunday, and breakfast, lunch, dinner daily. The menu features Italian, Mediterranean and American fare.

Breakfast consists of omelets, fried eggs, eggs Benedict, Monte Cristo, chicken-fried steak, breakfast biscuits, biscuits and gravy, skillet potatoes, pancakes and French toast.

The familiar plates are sauced up with freshly chopped vegetables, house-made hollandaise sauce or rich fruit toppings such as bananas Foster, blueberry or strawberry compote.

Lunch and dinner feature appetizers such as chicken wings, breaded chicken Parmiagiana strips, mozzarella sticks, loaded fries and catfish nuggets.

The catfish nuggets and dinner platter would also be a contender in a best catfish competition.

The catfish platter is served with house-made onion rings, hush puppies, fries, coleslaw and AJ's sauce dipping for $10.95.

"One guy said it is the best catfish he had in 30 years. He told me to put it on the menu," said owner and chef Nik Paunov.

Although Paunov hasn't always been a chef, he has always had a knack for cooking. His discerning palate allows him to recreate recipes from just tasting them and practicing them until it tastes just how he wants.

"I can go out and taste something and come back here and make it the same. I love to cook, you know, I just love it," he said.

The menu has a range of dishes, including sandwiches, pasta dishes, entrees, organic salads and house-made desserts.

For lunch, sandwiches include an Italian meatball, BBQ pork, chicken Cacciatore and veal, chicken or eggplant Parmigiana. Pastas include baked ziti, shrimp scampi, chicken alfredo and spicy fra diablo ravioli with sliced meatball.

Dinner entrees include chicken marsala, ghost chicken, salmon alfredo and pasta primavera. Specials often incorporate the official barbecue sauce of the Razorbacks, Sooie Sauce, for which Paunov is executive chef as well as the television persona in its advertising.

The menu changes two to three times a year, but many items, such as the burger and catfish, are permanent offerings.

"Most of the things on the menu, I created for me to eat. Like the catfish, I just make it and people taste it. They tell me to put it as a special... and now people drive from the other side of Beaver Lake to here just for the catfish," Paunov said.

Another popular offering that will likely endure any menu change is the Prime Rib dinner served as a special on Friday and Saturday nights.

The 12-14 ounce, hand-butchered cut is served with three seasonal sides, horseradish, au jus and a dinner roll, for $19.95.

Weekly specials include Taco Tuesdays from 11 a.m.-8 p.m. The $1 tacos offer a choice of beef or chipotle chicken and soft or crunchy shells. The tacos are topped with shredded lettuce, queso, pico de gallo, beans and sour cream, and $2 margaritas are also featured.

Wing Wednesday provides 75-cent boneless or bone-in wings with sauce selections of buffalo, barbecue or Asian.

Happy hour is featured 5:30-6:30 p.m. daily and includes $4 pitchers.

In addition to a full bar, Cafe Amici also offers a house-made wine, created from Paunov's grandmother's Bulgarian recipe.

"In the summer, drink it over ice. In the winter, warm it up a little bit -- sit around the fireplace."

The wine is made with elderberry, cinnamon and cloves.

"The elderberry is six times better for your heart than red grapes. Cinnamon also helps the cardiovascular," Paunov said.

Cafe Amici provides a golf course setting within an E. Fay Jones construction that was built in the 1960s. The internationally recognized architect and apprentice of Frank Lloyd Wright also designed the Mildred B. Cooper Memorial Chapel. The close setting and architectural similarities of the chapel make Cafe Amici a popular location to host wedding receptions.

"We do lots of weddings, lots of big parties," Paunov said.

The party room has a capacity for 150 people and is used for receptions of all kinds. With the restaurant and bar space included, the space can host parties for about 300 people.

Private event and wedding or catering consultations are available and can be booked for a free 30-minute session on the website or by emailing [email protected].

Paunov regards that much of the success has come from the hard work and immeasurable support of his partner and wife, Megan, along with his partner in the kitchen, Mike Rusev.

"In one year, we have accomplished so much that many restaurants take 10 years to do," Paunov said.

Cafe Amici is open 7 days a week from 9 a.m.-8 p.m. The restaurant, bar and event center is open to the public, and walk-ins are welcome. Guests planning to dine are encouraged to make reservations by calling (479) 270-5040, especially on the weekends.

More information and the menus are available online at cafeamici.us.

NAN Dining Guide Cover on 06/19/2015

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