If I were Ruth Reichl, I’d give Cuba one and a half stars. Because when the food is good, it is very good. And when it is not, the meat and fish are overcooked as to be unrecognizable, or as my friend John called our hotel mystery meat one night – “some kind of beef”.
Of course, eating in large hotels and restaurants in groups of over 100 people is not the way to sample a nation’s cuisine. What I was longing to do was convince one of our guides to take us home to their Mom and get me a Cuban home cooking lesson. But that was not happening on our tight schedule, and it’s not like I had Batali and Bittman to show me around…
It’s also important to remember that this was Cuban food seen through the eyes of an American visitor enjoying the privileges of a four star welcome and with money to spend. For native Cubans, who must live with rations and an extremely limited income, it’s a whole different story. (I”ll be talking about agriculture and food supply issues in an upcoming post.)
All that said, I had some memorable meals in Cuba. Enough for me to know that I did not begin to scratch the surface of Cuban cuisine on this trip. Maybe next time....
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At Buenavista, we were served a delicious traditional Cuban meal of fresh fruit, salad, chicken, rice and beans and a crispy fried vegetable – was it potatoes, Plantanos, Yucca? I forgot to ask!
This was my favorite meal of the trip.
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Don Lorenzo
Acosta No 260-A e/. Habana y Compostele
Habana Vieje. Tel 861-6733
This restaurant was a gift from a local on a hot Sunday after a long morning spent at the Craft Market. A simple request for a recommendation for a quick bite, and we were led on a ramble through the streets of Habana Vieje to an unmarked doorway, where small but well-maintained stairs led us up to this lovely rooftop restaurant. Our volunteer guide waited downstairs for us as we ate, so as to lead us back to our starting point – in exchange, of course, for a peso or two, which we were more than happy to give.
We were down to our last pesos that day, my friend, but the warm weather kept our appetites small enough to fit our wallets and the spontaneous little meal we shared was one of the best of the trip.
First, a mango, decorated with a small umbrella and a sprig of mint. Then bread with assorted accompaniments – in our case, we chose a simple light tuna salad and a tomato salsa. Washed down with cold agua con gas, it was a delightful small repast on a very hot summer day.
We had the place to ourselves that afternoon, and the service was personal and attentive, despite the fact that we warned the waiter up front how little we had to spend. One day, we’ll return to sample the more extensive Afro-Cuban offerings of the wonderful little restaurant.
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La Domenica Restaurant
O´reilly y mercaderes.
la habana vieja. 860 2918
Located near Plaza de la Catedral in the beautifully restored section of Habana Vieja, La Domenica has been called the best Italian restaurant in Habana. We stumbled upon it, attracted by the outdoor tables shaded by white umbrellas and an amazingly cheap patio menu. (The indoor menu is much pricier.) The umbellas came in handy when the afternoon’s regular downpour occurred halfway through our meal, an event that did little to spoil the meal.
The tuna salad appetizer was perfect, served with the traditional cuban salad of shredded carrots, cucumber, tomato and cooked cold green beans. A few olives reminded us we were at an Italian restaurant, and we washed it down with sparkling lemonade.
The chicken was another Cuban leaning dish, served with rice and beans, at the ridiculously low price of 6 pesos! But the best was the small pizza – unlike any I’ve eaten before, spiced a bit differently and made with a bread that was crisp, light but thicker than the brick oven pizzas I’ve eaten here in the States – Perhaps a little Cuban bread crust?
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El Patio
Plaza de la Catedral, Habana Vieja
Our final night celebration dinner was a feast served to us in Plaza de la Catedral by El Patio, one of Cuba’s most famous restaurants. Even the downpour that chased us from the square into the restaurant could not spoil the gorgeous setting. The truth is, I don’t remember much of the meal beyond the mojito, the delicious appetizer – a tower of mango and lobster- the wonderful conversation and the moving speeches and singing. Most memorable moments – singing U2’s MLK – “If a thundercloud passes rain, so let it rain” (and it did…) – and the heartfelt Bawo Thixo Somandla (For you, Sherry…).
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Any Mango Tree
The mango everywhere was incredible, and the highlight of our daily breakfast. But when we found this mango tree at las Terrazas, we knew we had hit the mother load.
Go ahead – Grab a ripe one down, peel it and enjoy the best fruit you’ll ever eat! Or, eat it like a native – roll it back and forth between your hands to soften it, then bite off the end and suck out the juices.
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Up next – I try my hand at Cuban Bread
Looks amazing!
what a great lot of experiences!
Peggy your comments, observations and photos on the Cuba trip are making me so nostalgic for our time there. I love the restaurant reporting and I recognize half the meals and the restaurants. You got so many details down. Looking forward to more. Kathleen
Reread the "another country " article on this blog. It states that the Cubans do not have enough to eat but the tourist have plenty. As a tourist I had plenty to eat and as written in the blog it was mediocre but there was more than enough.
First the good news there was no sign of obesity among the people we met and saw. But while in Havana a very thin woman outside our hotel asked for my leftover food I carried in a box as I left the tourist bus from a birding trip. Second a member of the synagogue told us that parents, some not Jewish, send their children to the Hebrew school because they know their kids will get one good meal a day. One night I saw waiters carefully putting all the meat from the plates they had just picked up from our table into a plastic bag. Because the meat was tasteless and tough very little of it was eaten.
Now back in NYC our Cuban waiter ( he was from Santiago and left Cuba eight years ago on a banana boat) at a neighborhood restaurant said the people do not have enough food to eat in Cuba. When he first went into a Miami market and saw the shelves full of vegetables and fruit he was like a kid in a candy store. (Asked what is the best Cuban restaurant it is Son Cubano at 14th St. and Ninth Avenue.)
Ironically one of our tourist guide said that diabetes 2 was becoming a problem in Cuba because of the high rice content of their diet. She said, "people who are not overweight are being diagnosis with the disease."
The embargo was mentioned so many times by our guides it makes you think that IT is the rallying cry to fight the big bad Goliath,the USA. Maybe it keeps Castro in power and we are playing into his hand.
! Buen suerte, Cuba!
What lovely photos and stories. It seems like an amazing adventure. Sad, though, to know of the dichotomy.
[…] bread, sometimes more like a baguette. Then of course, there were those little bite size rolls at El Guarjirito… Needless to say, I came home itching to make […]
My wife and I are to visit Cuba for the third time in six years this year 2016 we have be to old Havana . Walked the old streets visited the cigar factory and ate at some of the restaurants . But to see the real Cuba the best way is to drive a cross from the west coast to the east . Like we did , we traveled from cayo coco a cross the 15 k causeway on there M 6 to the town of triadad ,this was like a travel back in time and for me it made my holiday ?? I could to go on about the drive over the island but I will not So to any one who would. Try this you will not be disappointed . As for the town of Trinidad l say the same . .? Enjoy yours John c