After arriving, we were presented with some classic mojitos and had a chance to talk with the other guests and PR people. The mojito was delicious and not too sugary. I followed CT’s lead and chomped on a little of the sugar cane that was in the glass.

CT says: I always appreciate and well made mojito and I appreciated that this wasn’t overly sweetened.

After we were all seated, the owner of the restaurant, Jeremy Merrin talked to us about the history of the restaurant and its expanding future. Even though the restaurant is huge, he is not trying to be an Applebees or the like and all of the ingredients are fresh and everything is cooked from scratch. The Executive Chef, Stanley Licairac, was also on hand to talk about the menu and Cuban cuisine.

The menu informed us that we would be having a Caribbean Mojito Trio for our beverages throughout the evening. Hmm… I don’t really like to drink sugary drinks with my meal, but when in Havana….

The first mojito was a ginger agave mojito. It was quite an interesting drink. The ginger was very prevalent, as expected, but there was also some sort of odd bubblegum flavor. Maybe the rum?

CT says: I thought it was an interesting twist. I’m not a huge ginger-in-my-drink fan. Although the ginger taste was prevalent, it wasn’t dominant so I happy to put this down. Not sure it’s a drink I would order based on personal preference, but definitely interesting to taste.

The PR representative mentioned to us earlier that we may have to be rolled out of there by the end of the night. Once we saw the menu, we understood why. 7 courses! Ramblers, let’s get rambling!

Caldo Gallego- White bean, chorizo, and kale stew with white rice and avocado.

This was a great way to start the meal. Although the stew was a little cold by the time it was served, it was still delicious. It tasted even better with some rice and avocado in the same bite. This would be a great dish to make in the crockpot on a crisp Fall day.

CT says: This was such a home-y dish and just delicious! Not too salty, like lots of soups tend to be. I liked the avocado served on the side too, so it didn’t get mushy. This was definitely something I would pick up for lunch on a cold or rainy day…if I worked in the area.

Cuban Tamales- Steamed Cuban spiced masa stuffed with pernil, ropa vieja or pollo guisado. Served with garlic mojo.

Chef Licairac explained to us that he made these tamales differently than usual in that he mixed the proteins in with the masa rather just place a bit in the center. Smart use of labels! I thought the pork was the best as it was the most flavorful. The garlic mojo was pretty strong so just a dash was all that was necessary. I only took a bite or two of each as there was so much more food coming.

CT says: I really liked this style of tamale. I’m not usually a big fan, as I don’t like large spoonfuls of masa with just a little filling that you have to dig to find. Though the proteins could’ve been spiced a tad more, this was definitely something I could try again.

Mojito Shrimp- dark rum, cinnamon, all spice, cilantro and lime-infused jumbo shrimp served over a grilled pineapple pico de gallo.

I was already getting Mojito’d out, so I didn’t appreciate the cloying sweetness of the glaze on the shrimp. The grilled pineapple pico de gallo, other the other hand, was fantastic. Super fresh flavors and great texture.

CT says: This was a nice, light bite after the heavier starters. It would make for a nice shared appetizer, but a plate on its own might be too much sweetness at the beginning of the meal.

Before the entrées, we were each given a little jar/cup of passion fruit sorbet. It was a little different from the passion fruit sorbets we had in Panama, but still tasty. Just a spoonful was all I needed to cleanse.

CT says: Umm… more passion fruit sorbet?! YUM! I was ready to finish the bowl and call it a night. But then somebody pointed out it was just a palate cleanser and not supposed to be finished. But I say, then why make it so yummy?!! I hope this makes it to the dessert menu!!

Our next mojito was Green Apple. Quite a impressive way to bring together two seasons, since I consider mojitos to be a Summer drink. This was an ok drink but also had that strong bubblegum flavor.

CT says: Crisp and not sickeningly sweet like apple-tini’s tend to be. They did a good job blending the flavors. That said, I would still stick with my classic mojito.

The servers eventually brought out some hot sauce for us to kick up the spice as we pleased.

Vegetable Picadillo- A medley of zucchini, squash, peppers, eggplant and red onions marinated in fresh garlic, Cuban spices, and olive oil, fire roasted and diced into a picadillo, served in a yuca crisp.

This was quite an interesting dish. I’m not sure if it would really qualify as an entree, but the veggies were still very tasty. The squash was the most predominant flavor, which was a “Welcome to Fall.” Sliced avocado is always welcomed on my plate so I didn’t mind seeing this again. I also enjoyed the yuca crisp, which was like a taco salad shell but better!

CT says: The yucca crisp was probably my favorite part. I would enjoy this is a smaller portion as a side dsh to a main entrée. As an entrée itself? Maybe not. It was just roasted veggies.

Jeremy informed us while we were eating this of a special treat. Underneath the yuca crisp was a bit of fufu, which was mashed plaintains, cinnamon, and other spices. It was a nice little treat that reminded me of pie filling that was also useful in holding the crisp on the plate.

Fideua (Pasta Paella)- Spanish pasta paella, lightly toasted cappalini pasta slow cooked with fresh fish stock, chorizo and shell fish. I heard of paella that uses pasta instead of rice before but never tasted it. It was brought out in large cast iron pots and then portioned out to each of us, hence the ugly presentation. I had a couple bites and was not a fan. The pasta was too mushy and the shellfish was a bit bland. I was already getting pretty full at that point so I wasn’t too upset about leaving an almost full dish.

CT says: I liked the concept, but I was too full by this point to continue eating overcooked pasta. However, this seems like a difficult dish to produce for a large group, so I would be willing to try again. The shellfish tasted pretty good, so I picked out those pieces.

Malbec Braised Short Ribs- bone-in short ribs marinated in Malbec, agave and Cuban spices. Served with Caribbean coconut rice.

Why does the food keep coming out? Is this Castro’s grand plan? Why? Why? Anyway, the short rib was super delicious and tender. Too bad I wasn’t able to eat very much of it. We thought about asking to wrap it up but no one else seemed to be doing that so we didn’t either. What a waste!

CT says: This was definitely the best entrée, by far, hands down. SO GOOD. If you go here, this is the must-order item of their fall menu. I forced down about half the dish before surrendering to my overstuffed tummy, it was just so sad to see it go to waste.

Before dessert we were served our last of the mojito trio. This one was a rosewater mojito. I am not very familiar with rosewater, so I was a little taken a back by the medicinal flavor. It ended up working well as a digestif.

CT says: I’ve had a good amount of rose water in my life, but usually in very small portions. So, I actually really liked this last mojito. The rosewater flavor was very prevalent, so be warned, but if you like it, definitely try this.

Because our host hates us, we were given TWO DESSERTS! Fortunately, they were plated to be shared.

Empanada Dessert Trio- Dark Chocolate and Maduros, Guava and Cheese, Berry and Butter Cream.

I think the guava and cheese was my favorite.

CT says: I loved the guava and cheese, though the chocolate and maduros was a close second. Berry and Butter? Forgettable. Sweet empanadas was such a great idea!

Guava Cream Pie- Buttery and flaky crust stuffed with guava, cream cheese, mascarpone and mozzarella.

I’m not sure if there was actually mozzarella in the pie or if it was a typo. Regardless the filling was very similar to one of the empanadas that I already ate, so I only had a small taste of this.

CT says: Another win in my book. Although, both the pie and empanada were probably unnecessary since they were similar in flavor. My vote would be for the empanadas.

We also were surprised with a swag bag on the way out.

Included was an empanada press, pack of pre-made empanada dough, apron, thumb drive, small bottle of hot sauce and a gift certificate to return to the restaurant. The only problem is that I have no idea how much the gift certificate is worth.

All in all, I was very impressed with the food presented to us. Most of the Cuban food that I have been exposed to has been on trips to Sophie’s/Tina’s, so it was nice to try something new. While not all of the dishes I sampled may make it on the menu, I hope the short rib does. Thanks to Jeremy and the Havana Central staff for hosting us. I look forward to returning to try some of the more classic Cuban dishes, even if I have to claw my way through the tourists in Times Square.

Please note that everything was courtesy of Havana Central. I received no monetary compensation for this review, nor was I obliged in any way to post about the food and drink, positively or otherwise. This is my own opinion and I feel it was unbiased; you are free to take from this what you will.

© TT for The Feisty Foodie, 2011. | Permalink | 7 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: press event, Times Square

The entire back room, which is quite large, was reserved with three large tables for the food and lifestyle bloggers that had been invited to this event.  Our extremely friendly main-server came by to give us some bread to start, which he explained was a traditional Colombian bread – I thought he said pao de quiejo so I got super excited, but this turned out not to be that.  It looks like it… but it’s pandebono, which I thought was OK but needed more oomph (cheese or salt?).  A black bean dip appeared on the side.  I didn’t finish my piece, because I saw the menu and knew that with my wonky appetite, I needed to save room for what was to come. 

Our first course was served shortly: a duo of ceviches.  Marinated aji tuna, ginger, cilantro, mustard vinaigrette on the left, and cured salmon, aji amarillo, sour orange, pineapple on the right: I enjoyed the salmon, but I really enjoyed the tuna.  The flavors were bright, fresh, and just worked together to make my mouth happy.  Yum! 

Next, our aperitivo: bacon wrapped almond stuffed dates, hearts of palm, cabrales on the left, and Colombian sweet corn arepa, ropa vieja, crema nata and Criolla salad.  I thought the dates were a little sweet and overpowered the rest, but tasty enough; the ropa vieja on the other hand was super tender and super flavorful.  Delicious. 

With each course arrived more alcohol, so fast I couldn’t keep pace.  As soon as we’d sat down, actually, mojitos appeared; I’m not a fan of mojitos in general but these were so, so good.  I downed half of it, and the alcohol punched me in the face, so I had to stop before I got completely sloshed.  This is the sangria that arrived with our aperitivo, but I’ll let Beer Boor tell you about all the drinks as that’s his job, not mine.  And yes, that’s him in the background of this pic – I think he’s looking at his phone?

Beer Boor says: Har har. The mojitos were very citrusy and minty, to the point where the alcohol just didn’t register — the way I like mixed drinks. The sangria was given to us as using a very good bottle of red, which I couldn’t understand; I figured usually you use mediocre wine since it’s going to be drowned out by the fruit. In this case, the opposite occurred, and the drink became more of a red wine with solid bits of flavorless fruit.

Our first entree – yes, I said first – the fish course, roasted striped bass, serrano ham chick pea roasted pepper sauce.  My piece of fish was slightly overcooked, and I was feeling really full here so I opted to only take one bite before setting my fork down.  The server came to ask if everything was alright, and while I tried to assure him that it was fine, he took my plate from me and wrapped it to go without me asking.  That was pretty nice of him, though unnecessary, as I knew I wouldn’t eat it once I went home, and as expected, it wound up in the trash. 

Beer Boor says: I speculate that this was the Las Perdices pinot grigio. It’s never been a favorite grape of mine, but this was a mediocre wine, sharp and a little sour, and I struggled to drink much of it.

Our second main course, Cuban style ‘steak frites’ with traditional chimichurri – oh, how we looked and looked for the chimichurri.  It was not on any of our plates, and questions later didn’t solve the riddle.  Regardless, the steak was cooked to a perfect medium-rare and I enjoyed what I ate.  The yucca as ‘frites’ underneath didn’t fare so well in my opinion, but the dish was still very tasty. 

Beer Boor says: Just when I thought the wine choices might improve, this cabernet sauvignon appeared. Again, guessing based on the menu, this was a 2009 Infinitus. Far from tasty, this was mealy, flabby, mushy, all bad adjectives-y, and sat largely untouched for the duration.

For dessert, dark chocolate cake, dulce de leche ice cream.  I found it highly amusing that everyone’s ‘domino’ showed the number 7 (minus one person who had a 5)… when the name of the restaurant has the word ‘eight’ in it.  I went around looking at everyone’s dessert just to try to find someone with an eight!  I thought the cake was good, but I’m not a sweets person so it didn’t have a chance of impressing me anyway. 

Yvo says: There were definitely some really good dishes and some dishes that were only so-so for me.  I really liked the ceviche, and had varying levels of enjoyment for the rest of the meal.  I could see coming here if I lived closer or was in the neighborhood, but as the Upper West Side proved itself to be incredibly annoying to return to Forest Hills from after dinner that week, I doubt I will return any time soon.  However, that’s just a matter of personal convenience; it’s perfectly fine for most people… so I would suggest checking it out if you find yourself near the Museum of Natural History and in need of some tasty eats. 
recommended (but if you live in Forest Hills, be sure to leave plenty of time for the commute home)

Please note that we attended this event free of charge, courtesy of Calle Ocho and their PR team.  Opinions expressed herein are our own, and we received no compensation for such a post – the meal was free, and we were given $25 vouchers in the event we return.

© Feisty Foodie for The Feisty Foodie, 2011. | Permalink | 3 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: ceviche, fish

After leaving Newark, we arrived in Miami a couple of hours later, without delay and had a couple hours to blow off before our next flight to Panama City. After getting some exercise walking around the airport, we were a little hungry and we figured it would be best to eat before we got on the plane again. Since we were technically in Miami, we decided to give Cuban food a shot at Bongos Cuban Cafe. Only as I am writing this did I learn that Bongos is a small chain with a couple locations around Florida.

Since we were on vacation afterall, we started with a drink. Negra Modela for me and a mojito for CT. Not just any old mojito though, it was the South Beach Mojito. I think all that meant was that Bacardi Limon was used instead of regular Bacardi. Anyway, the drink had a ton of fresh mint and lime, which would make anything delicious.

CT says: Yum! The first of many on this trip!

Since we weren’t super hungry after our nostalgic breakfast, we decided to share an appetizer and a sandwich.

Chicken empanadas. Pretty standard. Although they weren’t piping hot, the crust and filling weren’t super dry. The dipping sauce was pretty bland, but useful with the empanadas.

CT says: I was excited to eat as many empanadas as I could get my little fingers on. Unfortunately, it didn’t turn out to be that many, so I’m really glad I started the trip with these. Were they spectacular? Not really. But they were delicious enough to satisfy the craving, especially considering I was sitting in an airport.

Innards!

I decided on the Cuban sandwich. New York City has its fair share of mediocre Cuban sandwiches, so I was interested to see what an airport version would be like. I was pleasantly surprised by this sandwich. It wasn’t greasy from the sandwich press and had a fair amount of roast pork in it. At first I thought they roast the pork on site, but now realize that they probably bring it in from one of the stand-alone restaurants. The Swiss cheese wasn’t of the best quality as I could barely taste it. We had to add our own mustard to the sandwich. The fries, like the empanadas, were leaning towards being room temperature.

CT says: This was a pretty good sandwich. I think TT won the ordering game… again. Sigh.

All in all, Bongos Cuban Cafe in the Miami International Airport could have been a lot worse. Although we didn’t have enough time to head to South Beach, we got a (very) small taste of little Havana. The bartender/waiter was super friendly which always makes a meal more enjoyable. On to PANAMA!

© TT for The Feisty Foodie, 2011. | Permalink | 10 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Cuban Sandwich, Miami International Airport, mojito, Panama

My second Yankee game of the year and the first with CT. She was supposed to go with me a couple weeks ago, but got sick. She was convinced that she was cursed from going to a game at the new stadium, since she also tried to go last year. If we were both able to leave early enough, I wanted to check out the “secret cheap bar” near the stadium that I haven’t been to in a while. A couple years ago my buddy took me here because they have 3 beers for $10. Considering inside the stadium that 1 beer is $10, it is quite the deal. I was a little worried the place wouldn’t be around since it is closer to south end of the old stadium and now farther away from the new stadium. I didn’t get a chance to go last year during the inaugural season. Luckily, it is still there and still has the 3 for $10 deal. You have your choice of Bud Light, Corona, Presidente, or Heineken.

They also offer a variety of food. Everything from hamburgers, hot dogs, and pizza to different Latin foods. I have had the “American” food before and it is not good, but still edible. The Latin food is the star(as expected in the South Bronx).

I had the Cuban sandwich before and it was very good. You can’t go wrong with the amount of garlic and butter that is on it. Once again it didn’t disappoint. For $6 it can’t be beat. Now that I think about it, I didn’t notice any pickles on it. It would have been better with that acid, but still quite yummy.

We also ordered the Chicken Mofongo. I had seen Mofongo on different cooking shows but never had it before. Mofongo is generally made from fried green plantains, which is mashed together with broth, garlic, olive oil, and pork cracklings or bits of bacon. It is often filled with vegetables, chicken, crab, shrimp, or beef and is often served with fried meat and chicken broth soup. Basically it was mashed up plantains and garlic topped with pulled chicken. It was delicious and cheap, only $8. The different textures really worked well together. I am glad we ordered it.

Luckily, the weather held up at the game. Unfortunately, A.J. Burnett didn’t have it that night and we ended up losing 10-6 to the Rays. At least we lost to the current best team in baseball. I love going to a game whenever I get a chance since it is so easy to get to the stadium on the 4 train. It was a good time despite the loss and I was happy to show CT the new Yankee Stadium.

© TT for The Feisty Foodie, 2010. | Permalink | 7 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: TT

BF really wanted empanadas, so we got empanadas.  We both liked these a lot – spiced, very aromatic beef inside deep fried, crispy shells, along with slightly tropical sauces… yum! 

My initial choice, the jerk chicken wings, were unfortunately unavailable, so I opted stupidly (it was a quick moment’s decision!) for the broccoli and carrot fritters.  They were sufficient but not delicious… I don’t know.  Slightly mushy on the inside and without any real flavor to them – subtly broccoli/carrot, but no pop! – I was only alright on these.  We didn’t finish this plate.

We also opted to split an entree, because neither of us were extremely hungry, just in the mood to eat post-two-and-a-half-hour-movie.  (Non-spoiler alert: we saw Funny People on opening day – yes, this meal is from July 31 – because I absolutely love Adam Sandler, and you know we watch a lot of movies because we both really like movies.  Anyway, we both liked it, but it was incredibly long.  Two and a half hours for a comedy is really pushing it.)  Anyway, we split the churrasco, or a skirt steak.  I believe this is half a skirt steak (I base this assumption from my experience with how big a full one is), but butterflied.  It was enough for both of us not being very hungry, and we ordered it medium rare, so it was cooked properly with a lot of pink inside.  Not the most flavorful on its own, but it did come with a cup of chimichurri (parsley, olive oil, garlic), which I loaded my steak with and ate happily.  (Thankfully, BF eats garlic as well, so I rarely ever feel bad about eating as much garlic as I’d like!)

The skirt steak came with rice and beans.  BF commented how much he liked the rice because it was ‘denser than normal but not heavy’ – he tried to describe what he meant but I failed to grasp.  I just thought it was fluffy rice.  I actually liked the rice and beans this way – separate, so I could mix each bite myself. 

Although we were sufficiently full at this point, we opted to look at a dessert menu because, well, why not?  We live large!    Also, while we were eating, I saw a giant interesting looking dessert go by… it was a big mug of something or other!  Well, it was ice cream, we found out, but too late, this dessert already screamed our name: banana fritters with banana ice cream, bananas, whipped cream.  Doesn’t that look good?  (Note: it was only $5.95 which really surprised BF, who thought it was extraordinarily cheap considering the description; when it came, he seemed to understand better, but was still happy with our choice.) 

The banana fritters weren’t quite fried well enough – slightly mushy, and flavorless as BF pointed out “needs more banana flavor, but adding everything else to it makes it taste better” – the banana ice cream with the fudgy sauce squiggle in the middle was my preferred tasting, or taking little bits of the fritters that remained crispy, heh.  It was tasty enough, and BF and I were very happy with the choice and sweet ending to our satisfactory meal. 

Yvo says:  Lively atmosphere and very “cozy” (read: tightly spaced tables), it was a fun and tasty end to our night.  Oh, I almost forgot, while we were eating, people suddenly started clapping, so I thought, “Someone’s birthday” but a guy a few tables down had just proposed (and she said yes)!!!  How cute.  It was definitely a fun night and I recommend it for nibblies.  Oh, and all of the above along with a glass of wine and a glass of sangria came to $60 pre-tip.  Not bad, right?  I’ll definitely go back.
recommended

© Feisty Foodie for The Feisty Foodie, 2009. | Permalink | 5 comments | Add to del.icio.us
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