We can always tell when a Cuban restaurant is run by real Cubans. The service is friendly, the décor is authentic, and the food tastes great! Mambo Restaurante is a great Cuban restaurant in Atlanta. Pick a classic Cuban dish from your memory and chances are Mambo has it on the menu. They also do several new twists on traditional Cuban tastes. The cabana is a boneless, skinless chicken breast glazed with a sauce of lime, garlic and guava.
You can't go wrong with the arroz con pollo or boliche, a delicious cut of beef roast stuffed with chorizo, and wonderfully spiced. The arroz con pollo came with a generous helping of tender and juicy chicken -- not overcooked, like at many restaurants -- served nestled in a delicately saffron-flavored rice. Mambo's serves tapas (bocaditos) in the bar, making it a great place to have a drink and a snack... (more) 
Guantanamera
Who wrote the famous song Guantanamera?
A popular Havana radio host in the 1940's, Jose Fernández Diaz known on the radio as Joseito Fernández, created the famous refrain, which he would sing on his daily radio program.
It seems that he had a crush on a girl who worked at the station, who happened to be from Guantánamo. The girls of Guantánamo were known for their beauty. There was a lot of intermarriage between the Spanish settlers and the Scottish and Irish pirates who were based there. Many Guantanameras have beautiful green eyes! Several songs have been written about the Guantanameras and their rare beauty.
A guajiro is a person from the country -- a farmer, peasant, or rancher. Thus "Guantanamera, guajira" means a girl from Guantánamo, a country girl.
Each day Fernández would sing the song to woo the girl of his dreams. The verses were usually humorous and he made them up as he went along. The only thing that stayed the same was the refrain. Who first added the words of the poetry of José Martí (Yo soy un hombre sincero...) is still a matter of debate.
The American singer, Pete Seeger, may not have been the first to add the lines from Martí, but he was the most successful with his recording of the song. Julian Orbon, Hector Angulo and Pete Seeger are credited with the adaptation of the lyrics on the album.
Guajiros
Why are Cuban country people called guajiros?
The Spanish who settled in Cuba quickly destroyed the indigenous peoples of Cuba through violence and disease. This left them without a good supply of free (slave) labor. To make up the difference, they began importing native peoples from the Guajira region between Colombia and Venezuela. These Indians, or "guajiros," lived in the rural areas of Cuba, often in crude shacks. Over the years, the name became a common term for any person who lived in the countryside and worked the land.
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As in past years, this year we had a big Noche Buena party at Raúl's house. This party was complicated by the fact that the Food Network was in town to film the entire event. They're doing a special called "Christmas in America" that will show the Christmas traditions of various cultural groups in the United States. We were honored to be chosen to represent Cuban culture and we did our best to put on a good show.
On Monday night we picked up our pig, more than 100 pounds of pork! Just getting it home was an adventure. Then we spent several hours preparing the pig: cleaning, splitting the back, making a ton of mojo, and marinating the pig overnight. Tuesday, (Christmas Eve Day) we got an early start, and this time our every move was followed by the television cameras. We set up our pig roaster in Raúl's backyard and showed how to roast a pig step by step. Pretty soon the pig was sizzling and Raúl's neighborhood was filled with the scent of roasting pork.
Then came the "hard" part, sitting around drinking beer, telling jokes, enjoying the sunshine and oh yeah, watching the pig roast! The ladies of the family prepared all of the side dishes, so the Three Guys got a break now and then while the TV crew filmed Esther, Mima, and Amparo doing their magic in the kitchen.
We think it's great that these three wonderful Cuban cooks who taught us so much will have their efforts preserved on video for many years to come.
The biggest problem with TV is that they slow everything down. It takes so long to set up the shots and film them. Once the pig was done, everyone was anxious to eat. But the crew needed to shoot close-ups of all of the food items. So we all waited impatiently for them to finish so that we could dig in!
We may not have made any money for our appearance, but we have created a wonderful Christmas card for our grandchildren! (So far, Raúl is the only grandfather in our group. Glenn and Jorge prefer to wait MANY years before we join that club! Are you listening kids?) (more pictures)
- Did You Miss Our First
- Appearance on the Food Network?
SEE the Three Guys From Miami on Keith Famie's Adventures! The show will repeat on Sunday, February 2, 2003 at 5:30 p.m. EST only on the Food Network.
This was our first of three appearances on the Food Network, and it shows! This episode originally aired in June 2002, and our on-camera style has improved remarkably since then. Still, it's fun to watch!
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Pastelitos
We get many requests for pastelito recipes. Everybody misses these great Miami favorites. OK, here's the thing. We do have a recipe for pastelitos, but we warn you that it is very complicated! So complicated and time consuming, we would never make this recipe again!
However, we understand that many people live in areas of the country where you just can't buy pastelitos -- so this recipe is for them... (more)
Flan de Queso
Flan de Queso is the Cuban version of cheesecake. In many families, it's the favorite dessert for Noche Buena. You get all of the rich egg flavor of flan with the sweet, rich flavor of cream cheese.
Making flan de queso is easy. If you can melt sugar in a pan -- and who can't? -- you can easily make this dessert... (more)
Huevos a la Flamenca
OK. An egg is running down a street in Havana and he's being chased by a crowd of hungry Cubans.
Up ahead he sees a pork chop leisurely walking along the avenue. As he passes the pork chop, he yells: "Run for your life! There's a bunch of hungry Cubans coming!"
The pork chop barely looks up and if anything he slows his pace a bit.
"Are you crazy," yells the egg. "They're right behind you. This is your last chance, run!"
And the pork chop says, "I don't have to run. It's been so long since any of those Cubans have seen me, they won't even recognize me!"
Huevos a la Flamenca is a nice dish to prepare for a formal brunch or just a great breakfast. Eggs really look good when they're served in a beautiful white custard cup. The key to this dish is a good Spanish chorizo... (more)
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