Comida-Cuban Food

Cuban food. Oh, where to begin. Upon arrival, I had low expectations for the food. Everything that I had read said that the trade embargo and poverty prevented the Cubans from eating food with much flavor at all. So I was expecting bland food at the best. I was pleasantly surprised to say the least. It helped a lot that we had such an amazing cook. Mileydis cooked the best food ever and it was so fresh and natural. We looked forward to 7:00PM everyday to eat whatever goodness she had cooked up that day for dinner and to eat it together, sharing stories from the day or anecdotes and complaints about Profe. We ate so quickly, practically shoveling that deliciousness in us as fast as we could. The dinner was always well-rounded, and different everyday. The main courses were either ropa vieja which is shredded beef, pulled chicken, spaghetti, pizza, meatballs, or fish. These selections were all delish. The accompaniments ALWAYS included arroz and frijoles of course, the staples of Latin American cooking, and an assortment of wonderful veggies. This depended on what was available that week but some of the choices were malanga or boniato (root vegetables kind of like sweet potato but better), tomatoes, green beans, beets, cabbage, or squash. This was nicely complimented by rolls and the best butter ever churned, and freshly squeezed juice of the guava, mango, orange, or watermelon varieties. YUM. At about 7:12 all this was gone and Chino, joking around and smiling, would clear our plates and ask us if we wanted dessert. The dessert choices were a little stranger and I for one usually went for helado or flan but the other rotating choices were sweet papaya (excuse me, fruta bomba), sweet watermelon rind, or mango or guava pureé with a slice of cheese. The others were good but I only wasted the calories on the nights of flan or ice cream. Those dinners, for the food and also for the company, were some of the best memories of the trip.
Our outside culinary adventures were just as exciting as our home cooked meals. They were never as good but they were always uncertain, always containing potential, and that’s what made it so thrilling. We quickly found the cheap spots around the barrio to eat. And we found our favorites. The best location was the little paladar right outside our building. The friendly ham sandwich guy would always greet us with a smile and whip us up his specialty: 10 moneda

nacional ham sandwiches, complete with mustard and lettuce and toasted to perfection on our choice of bun. It was the perfect quick and easy lunch when we were going for price and convenience. In this category there was also the hamburger stand paladar a couple blocks away with the two lovely women who cooked up burgers that were tastier than some I have eaten in the states. Although the meat was questionable, they were cooked perfectly, buns grilled slightly in the juices, and sooooo yummy. 24 MN. Another cheap option, a little farther away but so worth the trip, was the hot dog stand. Wow, I cannot possibly describe how good these hot dogs are. You kinda just have to try them. For 10 MN, you could get an eight inch hot dog in a soft bun and for another 10 MN could get a cola which was the perfect thing to wash it all down. The stand was unexplainably and frustratingly closed sometimes even though the sign said “24 horas” but when it was open, it made our day. A good snack place in between meals or late at night during the fun, we would head to Opurtunidades for a bite and beers if desired. The croquetas were the star of the show there, however. If you don’t know what a croqueta is, you are definitely missing out. It is made up of either chicken or pork or some other meat which is grinded up and combined with maybe potato or something, but its nice and soft on the inside, and then deep fried. The best way I can describe it is kinda like a meat tater tot. It was the snack of the trip, without doubt. Well, Pelly’s were definitely up there. Pelly’s are like cheetos but better. They are less cheesy but somehow more delicious. They were part of our survival kit for our long music classes, bus rides, or airport delays. Along with wine. Or Planchao rum boxes.
When we didn’t mind splurging for some grub, we headed to Dimar, Palmares, or some other random spot we could test out. Palmares, better known as the “thatched-roof place” usually only had cheese pizza but we always ordered veggie pizza which they happily made for us and was delicious. We would accompany the pizza with our drink of choice, mine of course being the pirate, and followed it up with our ice cream of choice, mine being a Tandem. As you can see, we had a routine. Or at least I did. Dimar was the seafood version of any Cuban restaurant, the perk being that you sat outside and overlooked the Malecon. They had shrimp croquetas which were even better than the meat croquetas if that’s possible, French fries, and yummy seafood pastas or pizzas. It was a good price and decent food and a place we frequented.
I could go on and on with the food. There is Olokku where they have good pizza, crema de queso, and where José and Johandy filled us in one lunchtime on certain Cuban delights after the Special Period such as cat meat burgers and melted condom cheese pizza. Needless to say we lost our appetite. There was Flor de Loto with the boys, a Chinese restaurant that was a little expensive (and by expensive I mean close to typical US prices), but where you got so much food for your money quite different than a lot of US restaurants). For about 7 CUC we got a whole chicken cut up and fried Chinese style and piled onto our plate. There was also Min Chi Tang with the boys which was the best pizzeria in all of Havana, according to them, and I’ll admit, I never found a better one. There was Tal Vez, with the milkshakes and creative pizza choices. And many other lovely food experiences.
Food and meal time is a large part of life. Food is necessary to survive but is always much more fun than that. There are good and bad experiences, good and bad food, and lots of memories of the people with whom you shared those experiences. Because of this, I dedicated this section to my food experiences in Cuba, because it was through these times, I learned about Cuba, I bonded with my friends and Cubans who became my family, and satisfied or surprised my taste buds delightedly.