Kuba Kuba

Kuba Kuba Restaurant Review:

At the busiest times, patrons face a frantic staff and a crowded dining area (with shelves that boast, bodega-style, Our Lady of Guadalupe candles and guava paste), where it is first come, first served. Good aromas will lure you to a seat anyway, and with appetite in hand, settle down to a slightly offbeat menu of mostly Cuban drinks and dishes. Kick off the meal with an order of empanadillas (we like these stuffed with slightly sweetened picadillo, a.k.a. Cuban beef hash), but other choices include scallop ceviche and an avocado salad resembling a color-clad fiesta. Want a casual entrée? Why not a Cuban sandwich with roast pork and Smithfield ham on Cuban bread (or a variation that adds chorizo), or lusty huevos rancheros, the Cuban rendition of this Mexican classic with two fried eggs atop Cuban bread and a pool of red beans? More substantial dishes include ropa vieja or seafood sofrito (sautéed shrimp and mussels in white wine sauce over angel hair pasta topped with manchego). There are several paellas including a vegetarian version. Dessert could be the delightful natillas (a kind of flan-crème brûlée hybrid), but most folks gravitate toward a towering slice of tres leches cake (chocolate or yellow), a custardy sweet finished with loads of stiff meringue frosting, and made by the owner’s mother.