- Mon Aug 14, 2017 9:46 am
#92568
There are at least ten Cuban restaurants 'near' me. One fairly small neighborhood alone has three.
Sure, one of the most successful has a full bar, trendy decor, and has sweetened up much of the food for Americans to the point it nearly gags you, but the jerk chicken isn't sweetened and is the best I have found anywhere, even in the islands. I go there for jerk chicken because it is different (and better) than typical Jamaican stuff.
At another place they serve the best black beans and rice I have ever had. The guy has been opening and closing restaurants here for thirty years, (I follow him around town, the current place is his fourth. He seems to have trouble with the authorities. Probably tax evasion and labor issues, but I've only heard rumors) He has played with the black beans recipe all that time. Unfortunately for me, my favorite version was one he served about 15 years ago. The rendition he serves now is a bit too sweet but still my second favorite. Also unfortunately for me, he stopped serving his fu fu this time around. It was a nice treat.
One of the best is a hole-in-the-wall dump run by an American who lived in Cuba for about 20 years. (Cuban wife) When he came back, he missed the food too much, so he became a restaurateur and serves some of the most authentic stuff in town. Cheap, too, because he doesn't have a huge overhead. He serves the food on paper plates and thrift store tables and chairs. He does it for the love of the food, not the money.
I will try the ropa vieja next time if I find it--on your say so. I rarely eat beef in restaurants so I basically pass over that part of the menu. (By the way, not one of them serves hamburgers or hotdogs. One does serve some sausages, sliced up, but they're closer to hot links than hot dogs.)