Trip to Habana Cafe is like a visit to Cuba Norte

John Volo

Great food, distinctive drinks and a lively band made for a

delightful night out at Habana Cafe, a Cuban restaurant located near

Beach Boulevard and Ellis Avenue.

The smooth, rhythmic, salsa-styled numbers pumped out by a

seasoned trio -- two bongo players and a keyboardist who replicates a

horn section -- created a vibe Ricky Ricardo would have been proud

of.

Our friendly server quickly shepherded the ladies toward one of

Cuba’s more traditional cocktails -- the mojito. This refreshing

concoction is made with rum, lime, fresh mint and club soda. I

strongly suggest upgrading to the Habana mojito (just $1.50 more),

which incorporates citrus-flavored rums in a glass practically twice

the size.

A plethora of floating fruit pieces also made a winner of the

sangria.

Picking up on my unbridled masculinity, our waiter suggested I try

a Cuban beer. Cuban beer? What about the trade embargo? Did they

sneak it down from Canada? Up from Mexico?

The mere thought of contraband sent my mind racing. I imagined a

backroom card game populated by older gentlemen wearing loose-fitting

shirts and jangly gold bracelets. For sure, they were smoking Cohiba

cigars and drinking the exact same smuggled beer I was about to

enjoy.

So much for the smuggled beer. I was quickly injected with a dose

of reality when our server informed me that Hatuey was merely a

Cuban-recipe beer brewed in Puerto Rico. Casting my disappointment

aside, I ordered a Hatuey -- which turned out to be nothing more than

a mediocre, legally imported cerveza.

With libations in hand, we commenced our feast with an appetizer

sampler platter, consisting of grilled Spanish chorizo (perfectly

spicy), mariquitos (plantain chips) and croquetas (Cuban-style egg

rolls filled with ham and chicken).

I believe shrimp is an essential part of any Cuban feast, and

Habana Cafe offers a variety of fried, grilled and sauteed shrimp

dishes. We were pleased with the camarones enchilados -- jumbo shrimp

(not truly jumbo, but good-sized) simmered in a peppery red Creole

sauce.

Our other seafood dish had chunks of lobster tail (three mini

tails cut into seven chunks) sauteed in butter and fresh garlic.

Removed from their shell and left to marinate in the garlic butter,

the lobster chunks became decadent morsels.

The guajira Cubana is an assortment of entrees all served on one

plate. It included a mildly marinated, oven-roasted chicken breast,

slowly simmered shredded beef topped with peas and red peppers, a

paper-thin chicken cutlet, and a tasty oven roasted chunk of pork

topped with garlic sauce. It’s all good.

Our last entree was seasoned ox tails served in the same peppery

Creole sauce as the shrimp. I deferred official opinion on the ox

tails to my friend Sean -- who found that the meat easily separated

from the bone and was extremely flavorful.

All of our entrees were accompanied by white rice, black beans and

fried sweet plantains.

For dessert, we savored both the house specialty -- flan -- and a

dense bread pudding showered with caramel sauce.

Habana Cafe also offers paella, Cuban omelets, media noche

sandwiches and tropical milk shakes. They’re open for lunch and

dinner.

A few caveats for anyone planning a trip to Habana Cafe: New

ownership is taking over shortly; the band currently plays only on

Saturday nights; and if you get caught up in the Cuban vibe like I

did, it’s quite possible you’ll find yourself walking out muttering,

“Say hello to my little friend” in your best Tony Montana accent.

* JOHN VOLO is the Independent restaurant critic. If you have

comments or suggestions, e-mail hbfoodguy@yahoo.com.