Check out the table of contents and list of recipes!
2:00 PM Book Signing at Sentir Cubano
- 3100 SW 8th St.
- Miami, FL 33135 305-644-8870
- Four blocks east of Versailles Restaurant.
- Miami, FL 33135 305-644-8870
October 1 -- Sunday
10:00 AM to 11:30 AM Book Signing at Walgreen's, Red Bird Shopping Center
- 5731 Bird Rd
- Miami, FL 33155 305-666-3393
- Corner of Bird and Red, behind the Red Bird Citgo Station
- Miami, FL 33155 305-666-3393
11:00 AM CBS 4 Sunday Morning with Eliott Rodriguez on Miami CBS 4
October 2 -- Monday
11:00 a.m. to NOON Live interview on FOOD & WINE TALK with Carole Kotkin and Simone Diament on 88.9 FM WDNA Radio Miami.
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- Listen to the webcast at: http://www.wdna.org
The Center City might remind you of Greenwich Village, a great urban landscape dotted with small, independent shops and restaurants. It's a place of refuge from "Corporate Restaurant America, Inc.," although even here the big chains have made inroads, they are kept at bay by the quality of the local places and their loyal clientele.
It was only when we ventured off of the Interstate and into the heart of the cities and towns along the way that we got a taste of real, soul-satisfying food, made with care by someone who lovingly put their heart and soul in every dish.
Whether from a little Greek shop selling gyros to a fried chicken wing shop in a less than desirable part of Pittsburgh -- "You guys aren't from around here, are you?" -- we always came away with not just a meal, but a memory.
Although we can’t name a single chain we suffered on our travels, we remember every last detail of each and every "real" restaurant we discovered.
Philadelphia surprised us with its energy and vitality. The Center City is relatively clean, the subway system remarkably graffiti free. The narrow, tree-lined streets only add to the charm, except when you need to find a parking space.
It's an easy city to navigate and everything in reality is much closer than you'd imagine from looking at a map. "I think we just drove by the Italian market!" The historic sites are a must, of course. The Liberty Bell is right there, so close you can almost touch it. The history you first encountered in grade school, with visions of Ben Franklin and Betsy Ross and the sights and sounds of colonial times comes alive.
We have to laugh at some of the reinventions -- you'd never see "green tamales with raspberry vinaigrette dressing" in a real Cuban restaurant! But sometimes a new variation makes sense.
Cuba Libre in Philadelphia surprised us with a churrasco steak that was served with a red wine reduction over a bed of garlic mashed potatoes. Not traditionally Cuban -- OK, not even close -- but one variation that really worked.
It's hard not to like a restaurant where the interior captures the beauty of a Havana street corner in the 1950s. The design creates a great atmosphere for eating, and on a hot August night with the front of the restaurant open to the night air, you can almost imagine yourself in pre-Castro Cuba.
We made an appetizer out of one of the entrees, the Plato Cuba Libre, which on this night includes a sampling of churrasco steak, a small mound of tender lechón asado, and Camarones Enchilados.
The food here is authentic Cuban, but Fernandez has taken it decidedly upscale with a heavy emphasis on artistic presentation. Everything we had here was good and beautifully plated. Portions tend to be small by Miami standards. They do make a great mojito here and it is sweet, sweet, sweet -- just the way God intended!
We began our meal with the plato surtido, which featured ham & chicken croquetas, a beef empanada and one filled with cheese that was especially tasty; a sliced Spanish chorizo, yuca frita, a papa rellena, maduros, and two tostón cups filled with beef and pork. The "surtido" was enough for three people, but for four it would be a stretch.
We wisely added a ceviche de camarones, tender shrimp in a spicy tomato-based sauce. After the surtido, it was a refreshing change of pace that cleared our palates and prepared us for the entrees to come.
We never expected to find a restaurant like this in this part of Philly! The interior reminded us a lot of the Columbia Restaurant in Tampa. Although not quite that big, Tierra Colombiana features plenty of seating in two large, tastefully appointed dining rooms and a full nightclub upstairs.
Tierra Colombiana is another restaurant with a split personality: it's half Cuban and half Colombian. And no, it's not a fusion restaurant. In the true spirit of détente, the two cuisines coexist side by side on the same menu. We recommend that you ignore the segregation and order from both sides of the menu freely, and here's why: you're going to love both!
The restaurant is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, but on this quiet Sunday we enjoyed a late afternoon dinner. This restaurant is more typical of Miami with large portions and classic preparations of traditional Cuban and Colombian food.
The ingredients of the cheesesteak are simple and well known: sliced beef, onions, Cheez Wiz, and plenty of juices from the grill served on an Italian roll. That's it. As far as we could see, there were no secret spices in the mix -- just salt and pepper. We were a little put off by the idea of Cheez Whiz, that miracle of manufacturing that Glenn hadn't seen since grade school. Some places will make a cheesesteak with American slices or provolone on request, but do so at your peril. The regulars may hoot and howl and you'll be made to feel downright un-American!
Pat's and Geno's both claim to have invented the cheesesteak and the two restaurants face each other on the tips of two wedges of real estate created by the diagonal intersection of 9th Street, Wharton, and Passyunk Avenues. Much has been written about the etiquette of ordering at these places and for the novice, Pat's posts complete instructions that you can read through while waiting in line. Just remember two things: order a "Whiz wit" (cheesesteak made with Cheez Whiz and fried onions) and know that you have to go to a second window for drinks and French fries.
Of the two places, Geno's is the most photogenic and it's the one you'll see in the magazines, brochures, and websites. We're not sure if Geno's always looked this way, or with success they just "went Hollywood." Pat's, on the other hand, looks like it hasn't changed much in 70 years. That's right, Pat Olivieri opened his shop in 1930. So for a great place to get a photo of the wife and kids, it's Geno's. For down-to-earth ingenuousness, we have to give Pat's the nod.
The best way to put the sandwiches to the test was a side-by-side comparison. This involved buying sandwiches at Geno's and bringing them over to Pat's -- probably not the smartest move on our part -- we realized that we were in danger of starting World War III. (Like asking for an order of French fries at the sandwich window!) However, we found a table (not easy to do at lunchtime) and slipped our Geno's sandwich into a Pat's wrapper, and nobody caught on.
So what was our verdict? Geno's had the best Italian roll, but Pat's sandwich provided the most satisfying experience overall. Somehow the meat tasted better at Pat's. That and the fact that Geno's owner Joe Vento posted a sign advising customers standing on line that they must "order in English," which dampened our enthusiasm for Geno's. Although we think all immigrants to this country should learn English if possible, we also know that it's a long and difficult process.
Both Raúl and Jorge arrived in this country speaking little English (they are now completely fluent) a situation that is true of most newcomers. We have to believe that Vento's parents and grandparents also faced the same uphill battle, a battle that's not made any easier by ridiculous signs and unwelcoming attitudes.
The other key element is the Italian roll. Like great Cuban bread in a Cuban sandwich, the quality of the bread makes all of the difference. One caveat: the Philly cheesesteak is juicy and you must eat it rapidly as those juices turn the crusty loaf into mush by about your third or fourth bite. Not a sandwich you can order to go!
The 35-year-old Martin was born in a small country side town in Matanzas, Cuba. From 1986 to 1990, he studied computers and electronics in Havana.
However, Martin dreamed of a life that could never happen for him in Cuba.
Martin and the other balseros spent four very rough days at sea. With no motor for their boat, they were at the mercy of the ocean currents.
On the fourth day a large storm blew up, buffeting the boat and threatening to tear it apart.
Most of Martin's compatriots returned to their homes, defeated. However, Martin and a friend stayed at the beach where they met other rafters. Joining one of those teams, the pair took to the seas again early Monday morning.
"After three hours at sea, we saw a big U.S. Coast Guard ship," Martin explains. "They picked us up and one week later I was in Guantanamo bay."
At that time there were close to 35,000 Cubans in Guantanamo Bay. Initially conditions at the camp were poor, but over time they improved. Five months after he arrived in Guantanamo, Martin and several others had started a small school.
"We managed to create a school with the help of the military and some civilian organizations," Martin says. "Some of us were teaching English and some of us were teaching computers. This was all voluntary. The U.S. military gave us old equipment and we refurbished it for use at the school. That was a great experience for me."
The best way to enjoy Philly is to walk and only resort to public transportation when your legs finally give out on you. Even late at night, the streets are alive with activity. The best experience comes from exploring and we were surprised and delighted by much of what we found there.
In Havana Salsa, Viviana Carballo has added to the mix with a delightful account of her own rather eccentric family's experiences both BC (Before Castro) and after. Reading this book is a little like pulling up a stool and listening to the stories of a favorite (albeit a little saucy) great aunt. As in many homes of the time and especially in the better homes of Havana, Carballo's mother cooked only occasionally, mostly for holidays and special occasions. The real culinary magic was performed by Dulce, the Carballo's cook and a devout follower of Santeria -- a religion that combines African mystic belief with Catholic faith. It was here that Viviana Carballo first learned the basics of Cuban cuisine, in a kitchen that was quite literally watched over by the Gods.
Carballo seasons her narrative with some 70 recipes for Cuban dishes, some very traditional, although there is a strong emphasis on dishes from the mother country, Spain. Some are pure Gallego: you'd be hard pressed to find Blue Cheese Circles, St. James Almond Tart, or Christmas Turkey with Catalan stuffing on a traditional Cuban menu, but this broadening of the Cuban food repertoire only adds to this book's appeal. There is even a recipe for filloas, the Spanish version of French crepes, thick and almost rustic in appearance these hearty pancakes make a great wrapper for a wide range of fillings both sweet and savory.
Cuban dessert fanatics (and we hear from them weekly at our website) will enjoy several rarely published dessert recipes including one for Brazo Gitano (quite literally Gypsy's arm) a classic jelly roll cake traditionally filled with sweet guava filling and topped with candied fruits and shredded coconut, but here stuffed with a citrus cream and garnished simply with powdered sugar and orange slices. Meringue loving foodies will be inspired by the capitolios, a chocolate cake-like confection topped with fluffy meringue -- although the author does admit to taking the easy way out and using a commercial brownie mix for the cake.
We have only begun to sample the recipes, but one clearly stands out: a new twist on enchilado de camarones, a very typical dish of sautéed shrimp in a creole sauce, here made less typical with the addition of coconut milk and a bit of a spicy kick.
Havana Salsa is an excellent read and the recipes are an added bonus!
