Croquetas. Those things are evil. And I'm nowhere near a Cuban place where they serve anything Cuban properly. All the Cubans here are from Tampa, which means they are Cuban like I am Irish. There's a Miami-style Cuban place in Winter Park, but it's not anywhere like convenient to me. Frown.

You ask for a cortadito here, you just get stared at. That's because you asked someone from Puerto Rico.

What I need is a recipe for a "FRITA”!
Probably the least nutritious food ever invented but God damn it, screw McDonalds! Those fritas with "papitas a la juliana" and my corner frita place (fritas de Perucho) were to die for!
A FRITA and an IRONBEER (pronounced ee-rON-bher”) were my afternoon snack till Cuba ran outta food…
Anyone has a recipe for a FRITA please send it to me!

I have my own version of cortadito.... Get your espresso machine going. In the coffee cup, put some condensed milk (to taste) and pour your espresso. Then froth it with the capuccino attachment, don't be afraid of the (very) possible mess. No manual tells you anything about that.... but it's a killer, totally unhealthy and decadent.
Enjoy.
About croquetas...
In mine, the masa can follow a couple of paths until it get to what it is... It's a combination of whatever meat (or meats) fowl, or fish of your liking finely grounded, eggs and flour...basically you can add all you want to this mixture.
Let them rest for a cople of minutes after forming them and dip them in egg yolks. Then cover them with breadcrumbs and fry them until golden.
Trivia: The espresso machine that we know today was invented by an Italian immigrant in Cuba, he went back to Turin, Italy where he perfected it.
Bonus trivia: The telephone was invented in the Gran Teatro Nacional de la Habana, by another Italian inmmigrant Enrico Meucci. He came to NYC to try implement his invention who was ultimately attributed to Graham Bell, who had the money to make it into an industry. But well, this bonus doesn't have anything to do with cortaditos o croquetas!

Killcastro,
For fritas.....
Basically all you have to do is mix ground meat (beef, pork, chilindron whatever)with egg yolks, put some finely chopped bellpeppers of the color of your liking, salt and pepper to taste. In the mixture and also you can put bacon, garlic (doree the garlic first, otherwise you will smell like a newly awoken dragon) and some finely cut onion... make them flat, about half an inch thick.
Sometimes I add some tabasco to my meat mixture.
Fry them till crusty. I personally don't use any lard or oil, I use the same meat fat that leaks from them on the pan. You can use bacon grease if you like.
Trivia: In Cuba there's an urban legend about someone selling "croquetas de pavo" en la playa de Marianao(in another version they were "fritas de ave" -averrigua) and it turned out to be that the turkey was "turkey vulture" or aura tiñosa!

Fritas Cubanas / Traditional Cuban Hamburgers

1 lb ground beef
1/4 cup milk
1 cup bread crumbs
1/2 cup finely chopped onions
1 egg
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon Ketchup
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon lime
1 teaspoon garlic powder
6 tiny (the smallest size) hamburger rolls
1 cup shoestring potato sticks
Olive oil for frying burgers

Soak bread crumbs in milk. Beat eggs. Mix eggs, chopped onions, salt, Ketchup, lime, garlic powder, paprika and soaked bread crumbs into ground beef. Make six small beef patties and refrigerate (covered) overnight. Fry Fritas in a small amount of olive oil and cook very well on both sides until done. Set Fritas on Ketchup-smeared hamburger rolls. Cover generously with shoestring potato sticks and close bun. Add more salt to taste if you wish.

Note *Sorry, but you are NOT Cuban if you've never eaten a Frita.

Make sure that your ketchup is not Heinz. You don't want to give a penny to that weenie of Kerry

With apologies to Homer Simpson,

"MMMmmmmm, Fritas."
"MMMmmmmm, Ironbeer."

Ironbeer is the bomb. I have at least one or two every week. Only in America can a one hundred year old Cuban soft drink be resurrected and sold to hundreds of thousands of thirsty and nostalgic exiles. My nine year old son -- and a Batista stooge, of course, born right here in the "Joonigh Estay" -- loves it!

And what about croquetas preparadas? Take 3 ham croqutetas and one cuban sandwich. Open cuban sandwich and isnert croquetas evenly spaced. Close cuban sandwich.

Oh,man.

Every day after school, my abuelo would come to pick us up. On the way home we would always stop for a little merienda. For my brother, it was always croquetas de jamon, but for me it was a pastelito de carne, and an Ironbeer.

I agree with George, Ironbeer is the bomb. When I was in college, I brought my roommate down to Miami with me and he brought a case of Ironbeer back with him.

Ironbeer, or no beber.

Where I first saw Killcastro mentioning Ironbeer, I thought he was talking about a rather nasty, cheap beer- not a soft drink! I'm guessing that would be a 'regional specialty'? Living in San Diego we don't see much in the way of Cuban goodies.

CB,

Naw, the telephone was invented by Don Ameche. I know 'cause he made a movie about it.

Ah yes, how bout the cuban version of a poor boy sandwich. First thing you need to do is drive around a construction site and find the roach coach. Once you find the roach coach you grab yourself some cuban bread and fill it with croquetas. Mash the two sides of the bread but not so much that the croquetas come out of the sides. ENJOY. Oh yeah one more thing you must catch the roach coach at it's first or second stop, if you don't you won't find any croquetas.

IRONBEER "El Hombre Fuerte" as was called by my grandfather. Man, that's the best soda ever known to man.

"El Rey De La Fritas" Is great for fritas "Obviously"

But I'm at a crossroads when it comes to who makes the best Croquetas "Sergio's" "La Carreta" "Versailles" "la Palma" "El Palacio de las Frutas" (Best place to get Chicharrones and Masas de puerco.)

Oye the best way I know how to eat a croqueta is squeeze lime into a small plate and dip the croqueta [if desired]. Or a croqueta preparado, or a sandwich de croqueta.

....oh shit, stomach's growling

STOP!!!! I beg you!! I'm stuck in Northern Virginia - the nearest Cuban restaurant is at least an hour away and it's really not good Cuban food. Que daria por unas croquetas de Versailles y un cortadito, y despues unos pastelitos de carne, y unos pastelitos de guayava con queso de crema!!!! Hmmmmmm

quick get on the first plane to miami...lol

Ok, folks, Hnag on to your britches.

Here's a couple more delicacies:

Pan de GLORIA!!!

Buñuelos

Churros (and not those crappy churros they sell at fairs. The real ones, from the old El Polar ice cream shop on Calle 8)

And there is nothing like a fresh, right out of the oven pan cubano.

Ah yes - food - the great uniter.

I agree with Mercedes' recipe for "fritas" the only thing I would change is to use Spanish pimenton (now easier to get with all the fabulous bodeguitas españolas)rather than regular paprika. It gives the frita a hint of chorizo. Also you can majke more fritas, roll them (raw) into little balls, wrap them in wax paper and freeze them. When you're reasdy to eat let them thaw, flatten them and fry them as usual - they taste just as good as when you first mixed them. I always make a bunch and keep them in the freezer for a quick dinner.

Speaking of which - what about a good choripan? Bien sencillo: Cuban bread, a ton of sliced chorizo and fried onions. It's a beautiful thing.

My favorite Cuban refresco: CAWY! Way, way better than Sprite and 7-Up.

As for the best croquetas (a distant second to my abuela's of course)I gotta go with La Carreta on Bird Road.

And the buñuelos (YUMMY!) I like them at Ayestaran on calle 8.

And for churros and chocolate caliente - on cold nights Versailles makes kick-ass hot chocolate (thick Spanish-style) and crucnchy, perfect churros.

Oh Val, by the way, I know Enrique Fernandez. He used to my editor, actually *the* Editor, at the now-defunct "Exito". He went to Exito from the Sun Sentinel , and is now features Editor for The Miami Herald.

Before coming to Miami he worked in NYC on the Village Voice. He's a really cool guy and definitely a *foodie*.

great writting
thats what i miss!
i'v been in Sarasota for 5 years
tengo que hablar con Felipito Vals
to open one here

Hilda,

You're killing me!

"Churros (and not those crappy churros they sell at fairs. The real ones, from the old El Polar ice cream shop on Calle 8)"-Val

"Las Palmas" Retuarant is the best place for REAL CUBAN churros. I forgot the address, I'll get back to you with that one.

What about "platillo voladores", empanadas de carne and the real porkrind, "chicarrones pig fat i love it

ed writes:

"the real porkrind, "chicarrones pig fat "

Hands-down, the best chicharron is at the "Palacio de los Jugos". I assume they all have them, but I go to the one on Miller and 107th-ish. Fantastic! Ask them to cut it up for you.

And while you're there, wash the chicharron down with all-natural jugo de mamey (con poco hielo pa' que te den mas) - it'll make you cry! I actually buy the bottles of the stuff and take it home. $5 a bottle and you've got all-natural delicious juice!

You see, Hilda? We can agree on something.

As for your comment on food being the great uniter, it is. There is something wonderful, mystical -- almost religious -- about sitting down at a table with family or friends and sharing good food (and adult beverages) and stimulating conversation.

I pray that soon we'll be able to share the bounty we have here in the USA with the people on the imprisoned island of my birth.

This is a great blog. I am glad I ran into it.
I have but this to say about croquetas:

Croquetas pegacielo - Vendidas en La esquina de Tejas.

Don't know what the hell they were made from but they were good. This is circa 1970s in Cuba, so any food at the time was good.

Although she's grossly misguided, it's good to see you and Hilda "playing nice"

BlogOn!

Oscar,
Those were known as "apollo once", because they stuck to "el cielo de la boca". Made out of an unindentified matter as you properly point out.
That's one of the many mysteries of cagastrism. What the hell the "food" is made out? (!)That's pure Cuban 70's stuff! From la esquina de "Texas" as Cabrera Infante called the place in Tres Tristes Tigres.....

A note for all the frita lovers:
In my version, tried a few minutes ago, I added some shredded chorizo, some grated cheese, and a hint of "aji picante" to the meat mixture.... also I added a few capers here and there.... Needless to say that I am making more!
(I don't like to "shorten" the meat with milk and bread crumbs, I prefer them to be really meaty, I don't like powdered garlic or powdered onion, I like the real McCoy. I never use olive oil to fry, either... to fry I use either lard or sunflower oil - Spanish made, but as I said in my early posting, I just do it with the fat and juices that drip out the fritas while in the pan)As you can imagine, we are having an early lunch... they will be served in Cuban bread instead of buns, and washed down with beer.
Sorry if I made anyone hungry!

Joaquin,
Even though I left Cuba in 1974 at the ripe young age og 10,I still remember much. And I think the shananigans with the food still goes on. My pobre abuelita landed in one of Cuba's 'free' for the people hospitals after she ate a Pan con bisteq sold by a corner vendor. The meat in question, trapo de piso marinaded in lime jusice. A bit hard to swallow just like Fidel's bull.

I remember seeing Enrique Fernandez's "Croquetas and Cafecitos 101" published in the Miami Herald a while back.

All this talk of food is making me wish I had eaten a croqueta or cuban sandwich instead of the lame sandwich and yogurt I'm currently having for lunch!

Ironbeer rules! I remember getting my "americana" girlfriend from North Florida hooked on them when I was in college.

The "dying man and the croquetas" joke was excellent!

"the real porkrind, "chicarrones pig fat "

Hands-down, the best chicharron is at the "Palacio de los Jugos". I assume they all have them, but I go to the one on Miller and 107th-ish. Fantastic! Ask them to cut it up for you.

And while you're there, wash the chicharron down with all-natural jugo de mamey (con poco hielo pa' que te den mas) - it'll make you cry! I actually buy the bottles of the stuff and take it home. $5 a bottle and you've got all-natural delicious juice!"
-Hilda

The one across from from St. Timothy Church..I agree with the jugo de mamey part. A nice Guarapo, is pretty good too. Lol, I'm SUCH a fat ass. I love their Tamales with Chicharones y Masas de puerco...Chased with a good IRONBEER. Goodness!!

OK, guys. All this tallk of comida criolla has not only made me hungry, but...

What do you guys think about maybe posting one cuban recipe per week? Pure comida criolla. We can all submit one of our families treasured recipes. A group recipeblogproject perse.

We can call it "la Concina de Abuela" or something. Who's in?

I like it...

I am in for the recipes...
Just one thing, many Cuban friends say that my cooking is somehow a bit not very Cuban, but I have learnt many dishes from different sources, some Cuban, some Spanish... (Spanish-Cuban family) I tend to like spicy, that is not one of the things typical of certain Cuban food. But there are parts of Cuba (in las Villas for example) where the food resembles a lot what I have eaten in Louisiana. And Camaguey and Texas have a bunch in common too...
I will try to do my best Val!

Trivia: In Cuba there's an urban legend about someone selling "croquetas de pavo" en la playa de Marianao(in another version they were "fritas de ave" -averrigua) and it turned out to be that the turkey was "turkey vulture" or aura tiñosa!
NO trivia , I know the place(that was my stomping grounds !) and had one of them "TIñoSA" sandwishes It was actually slices of tiñosa breasts)
The place was right across what used to be "La Concha" and next to a pizza place name "Mar Apperto" (that never had any Pizza)
La BOLA began to run this place had GREAT chicken sandwishes and we flew to get some. !
To tell you the truth , they were not bad, but when we found out what the "sortta dark" meat was, we all thought we were gonna DIE!

Kill Castro,
I will take your assertion as a confirmation of the urban legend, taking it from legend to legendary!!!!
So it was true...
That's an amazing story. In my years in Cuba I would eat only at home. Healthy habit that I still keep, because the carts that sell "food" in NYC are also kind of dirty, smelly, and pushed all over the place by Osama Bin Laden look a likes. Nothing as disgusting as the stench that wafts from one of them over a non descript city scene in a winter morning... And people still by whatever they sell (They seem to have a steady supply of camel dung to fire up those things'burners!!!!)

GRACIAS MERCEDES !
That sounds just like the scientific experiment my mom used to make for FRITAS.
I agree that PIMENTON is a MUST for fritas !
Now I am passing this to my wife.. I AM HAVING FRITAS THIS WEEKEND ! Yeah!

OH LORDY LORD! Where do these memories come from!?
CAWY
MATERVA (really my FAVORITE soft drink. Still is)
MANYU
Royal Crown Cola
PAN de GLORIA (i don’t even remember what that
was but my mouth gets all watery!)
Una "medianoche"
CHURROS! The greasy kind in the brown paper bag!
Buñuelos !
MAJUAS! (you guys know what Majuas are ? )
"Perucho" (my corner food pusher) used to fry these MAJUAS and a little bag was 3 kilos. THAT was our junk food while we were playing trompo or bolas. Then we would fire a couple of strategic rocks to any tree in the neighborhood bearing any fruit (mango, tamarindo, guanabana) and chase it with that.

The "empanadas calientes" still ring in my palate.
"Empanadas calientes de carne y de guayaba a 3 kilos y a medio, y estan calienticas"
Those were my childhood memories... eat, eat un buen empacho de mangos verde con sal ! ah HEAVEN
I could never understand how Cuba ran out of MAJUAS! Or any seafood stuff.
I used to "escape" to Barlovento (Now Marina Hemingway and only for the "Gusanos with a LOTTA vile USD$) and catch "Pargitos" with just a pita and a rusty "anzuelo" . I remember the wealthy Barlovento tenants (whoever had some $$$ left in 1960) would dock their Yatchs and allow us kids to come to the indoor dock and throw our fishing gear in. That would be 5 hour of healthy entertainment PLUS a magnificent PARGO frito dinner!
Imagine my total amazement when 30 years later they did not let my wife's family in 'cause they were cubanos !
Okay sorry .. This wasn’t about politics...

You can still get majuas in any Chinese market Killcastro, fry them, very salty, and eat them with tostones and beer... (if you're in NYC or vicinity, all over Chinatown, they have a blue kind and a silver kind... Ask them to fry them for you, so you don't have to transport them and you don't have to wait to eat them, they will say now, but show them two bucks and they will say yes)
Pan de gloria: a sweet kind of bread with some thick crusty sugary cream on top. With pasas inside. In some bakaries they have them with whatever name they want to give them...

CB
Are you in NYC ?
I am in Howard Beach and the closest we have to Cuban food is "Cabaña" in Forest Hills
I *HATE* the novo Cuban crap they sell in the "Cuban" restaurants in Manhattan " Bistec con salsa de Mango" arggggg! who heard of THAT!
Victor's has become a total joke.
I do recomend "Lasaros" on 29E 30th. Still very typical VERY Cuban. The owner IBEA will (herself) make your coffee! Great lady with a terrific rag-to-riches story!
My pilmigrage twice a year to Miami begins with a stop at VERSALLES and just walk down Calle ocho and listen to the crowd.
God how I miss MY PEOPLE!

mmmmmm...majuitas...lightly dredged in seasoned flour and deep fried...that's what I'm talkin' about.

The great thing is you can get them at bait shops really cheap! My American husband just about had a heart attack when I told him we ate them!

Yes, I am in the metropolitan area Killcastro, I like some of the nouveau Cuban. Not all. It depends on the cook. I don't mind them reinventing something or creating something anew, but they need to drink from the right source. I cook nouveau, most of the time, but I don't do arroz con mango or some of the crappy things that I see... I like Cabaña in the city...
I will write more in a while...

As I said, I don't do a lot of the strange concoctions that I see around the restaurant scene, but I don't do a lot of stuff that I know from Cuba or from Miami, and that's very personal, there are things that I don't like at all, and that I would not touch with a ten foot pole. Cooking is personal, and eating too.
When I used to live in Miami I liked most of the places, but I also got bored by the lack of innovation in some others... I don't eat the same stuff everyday and some of the restaurants (here and there) seem to have had the same menus since 1941. Of course, some cooks are more adventurous and they are real innovators in cuisine and culture. Some others just bank in people's nostalgy and don't try to do anything else, and then you have the plainly mediocre! Tell me more about Lasaro and the story of the mispelling. They are surely realy good. I like la Caridad (Broadway and 66th I think) chino cubano, excellent. Truck driver portions!

Oh you need to hear the story from Ibea ! But I'll give it a shot. The truly amazing thing is that here you have an poor inmigrant whose folks put through design school, (IFT) in the 70s While going to school she got a job as a "forelady" on some factory in Manhattan doing clothing for Saks, Bloomies etc.
Since she was a fashion designer on the making, she'd play around with the designs and would do a couple of pieces the way SHE thought should've been done. Well someone at one of the BIG stores saw HER interpreation of the designs and reorder the whole thing to match Ibea's design. At that point the owner could NOT part with Ibea. I dont think she was ever even able to finish IFT (I may be wrong on this) but the owner of the shop was throwing so much money at her (The fashion stores would not have anyone else work on their high couture stuff) That she just didnt have any time.
At some point she figured she'd go on her own (this in her early 20s ) and the owner of the shop offered her a partnership. Fast forward .. the guy (jewish fellow) dies and she keeps the whole shop.
A few years later some big company offers to buy her shop for what she describes as an "insane" amount of $$$$ . She sells and moves to Florida as a millionaries in her early 40s and single, but couldnt find the right Cuban to hook up with. Her son makes HIS own fortune during the 80s selling real state in NYC. Knowing "Mami" is bored outta her mind , he calls her one day and says "Mom" I just bought you a restaurant so you will have something to do. She moved back to NYC and there it is, and there she is working 18 hour days and keeping that place just like a lil jewel.
The story I heard from the bartender (a Brazilian girl who makes the BEST mojitos in the world) was that the restaurant awning was supposed to read Lazaro's but the awning shop screwed up and wrote LASARO's There was no "theme" to the restuarant (and NOT much buisness) at the begining so the name of the place was not that important. Then she decided to add "authentic Cuban food" to the marketing That changed everything.
The pictures on the wall testify that the place has become indeed THE Cuban place in NYC.
I DOUBT she is making oodles of cash ! the portions are HUGE the quality of EVERYTHING is EXCELLENT and the Salary of the Chef (and the rest of the staff) would choke a small pony ! But.. she is having fun ;)

What a fascinating story! Thanks for sharing, I will pass by Lasaro's... Thanks again, Killcastro

Vaya! Lazaro's, eh? As in San Lazaro. As in Babalu.

Babalu Aye.

It WAS supposed to be Lazaro's as in "El Rincon de San Lazaro" Very Cuban/spiritual kindda thing. HER way of giving thanks. But the awning company scrwed up. The color theme though is VERY much after El Rincon in La Habana.
Now remember Val, here in NYC we need to GO HUNTING for good Cuban food. In MAYAMI, you guys just throw a rock and GREAT Cuban food seems to manifest itself.

Killcastro
When I was a little kid, there was a guy who used to have a little stand on la setenta avenida en la ampliacion de Almendares en Marianao across from el colegio Verbo Encarnado next to la Piquera de Pipo that had the best fritas I have ever tasted.

Since I love to eat, I paid very good attention as he was preparing them and since God also bestowed me with excellent memory, I remembered how he did it years later en el exilio.

First he got some picadillo that had been mixed with finely chopped garlic, onions, parsley and egg batter, and just a bit of crushed old cuban bread made into meal.

Then he got about 1/2 of that amount of ground chorizo and mixed it in and added salt.

He the would get a real hot frying pan with a bit of oil and put small balls of the stuff in and mash them down real flat, if they would start to smoke or get too hot before they were cooked all the way he would squirt a bit of vino seco to cool it down a bit, both sides.

Then he would take the meat out, put both sides of the bun in the frying pan facing down and just heat them up a bit, then put the frita, ketchup and shoe string potatoes from a can.

Smashed everything down and give it to you with an Ironbeer or if my grandad planned it just right I had a big paper cup full of crushed ice and guarapo from la cafeteria El Cerro en Coyula y la setenta.

After that a pastelito de guayaba.

By the way, has anybody ever gotten jamon dulce here in the US that tasted like the stuff we used to get over there with the edge really crusty, quemadito and sweet??? I am still looking....

Killcastro, I do remember the majuas that were sometimes chased around by the agujones.

But I also remember going to visit family in Manzanillo and going with my cousins to the Yate y Pesca dock and buying lisetas from the fisherman. Those were so good fried or the meat boiled and mixed with boiled potatoes, and eggs and parsley and made into a paste to make croquetas.

I used to get a bowl of big red shrimp down the street from the dock that cost una peseta and eat them with ketchup, and my mother would make me drink a glass of milk so I would not get a belly ache later on.

BURP!!!!

NOTHING I have ever tasted in the USA taste like it did in Cuba, specially CHICKEN . To her dying day my mom longed for a "gallina criolla". Now I have aquuired "american food tatses that I am sure will not taste the same outside the USA. A MCDonalds in Taiwan is just NOT the same as it is here. So ( and I find myself making this apology over and over again. It is the TASTE I was born with. After 30+ years in the USA I suffer from TERRIBLE digestion problems. The moment I drink some Cuban water my digestion is PERFECT . Now go explain THAT!
The first time we had enough money to buy shrimp in the states (god did my folks work for that god damn shrimp, I remeber going to the fish market and my mom looking at this stuff and in typical matronly Cuban way chastise the poor vendor saying "This not shrimp , this is BAIT, where are the REAL shrimp!
And she was right we used to bait our lures with the shripms they were selling here.
Same for lobsters
Yes you would go troll for majuas once the agujones made them jump, then the skilful netters would just throw that thing and BOOM ... FOOD!
FOOD as plentiful as no other country I have ever seen.
My dad (who was a Spaniard ) would marvel at the fertility of Cuba's soil , he would say ."God damn you throw a mango seed ANY place in Cuba and the next year you have a mango tree!
I remember EVERYONE in my neighborhood had some fruit tree and NOONE had ever planted one.
I am originally from "Ampliacion de Almendares (born in Maternidada del Vedado) but raised until my departure in ave 21 e/ 76 y 78. We called the area EVERYTHING , Marianao, Buenavista I guess the was some "cast" thing going and the fact we were just that much closer to Miramar made our area a bit more desirable. But we were a neighborhood of blue collar workers. In my street we had two honest to god mansions and a solar. I don’t recall EVER a discussion about who has what or remember discrimination at any level. On my way to school the solar "Momma" would be having a conversation with the Mansion Lady and they would be having the greatest laugh about "something”. When Castro began to makes us ALL the same (yeah exactly as miserable as the next guy) the Solar lady had a slight advantage because she had something like 10 kids and would get a LOT of milk while the "Mansion Momma " had two kids. The unity of our neighborhood was such that the Solar lady would sell her extra milk to the rest of us and NEVER made a penny on it. Years ago I found out that the Mansion Lady , had paid for a very delicate operation the Solar lady's husband had undertaken, and the solar lady was just repaying in kind. and THAT was MY CUBA, my street my neighbors. WE loved each other dearly, some wedges were hammered in place by the "Party" But they were never enough to turn brother against brother. In fact when my "inventorio" was done, the president (HOT BLACK FEMALE) of the CDR came to witness it and gave me a Smackledicious kiss right on my mouth and congratulated me. She was happy *I* was seeing MY dream come true. The Party member witnessing that gave my neighbor one hell of a scolding. while she was getting in her car to leave I remember Xiomara ( the CDR's president daughter, spitting at her and saying "cacho'puta" We have known each other since we were in diapers and now YOU come to tell us who to love.. ?
Pro-Castrist or Anti-Castrist in the late 60s we still held a deep conviction of friendship.
I guess after El Mariel all of that turned to shit since the stories I hear either make me cry or make me want to shoot someone on the nads and pour Drano in the wound.
But I still cling to the last words of my ULTRA COMMUNIST CULTIST TO THE END Uncle who said VERY proudly to me a few months before his death.

"I am proud of you ... in no other place but the USA would you have become the man you have and achieved what you have.

This from a man who admitted without qualms that the day Castro fell he’d be the first to be hung.

With that we forgave each other 30 years of misguided ideologies.
I do hope when WE come back that all Cubans "los de aqui y los de alla" will be able to hug and say to each other I AM PROUD OF YOU!
Just a little dream of mine. ;)

Cohete -
Coyula was a school wasnt it,"Academia Coyula" near "La Curba de Montalvo?" some of the stuff you mention springs back memories that had been dormant for way too long!

Ok guys, here are my sources for jamon and good chicken in New York City. I cannot live feeling that you're deprived from these goodies....
For jamon, sorry to tell you, y'all got to go to Brooklyn. Bensonhurst. Then go to Sal & Frank on 18th Ave and 80th. They have the greatest Italian deli and they have the Italian version of everything like Jamon Serrano. Also in the same avenue, a few blocks towards the sea they have an Italian fishmonger with real shrimp and real squid, and fresh fish, really good.
Then, you can go to Zabar's in the upper west side. Spit on the liberals you're going to see, elbow them as much as you can because the place is crowded. They have it and they have real shrimp to. Excellent selection of cheese, chorizo, etc. Real Spanish.
For the real McCoy though, you've gotta drag your old bones to Newark. Make sure your armored vehicle is ready and your machine gun loaded. Go to the Portuguese section, the Ironbound district. Frango = Pollo in Portuguese. Y'all will see what I am talking about. They have the most amazing concentration of Portuguese bodegas and markets and they carry everything to which you might want to treat yourself. Portuguese and Spanish. Seafood is a jewel in that crown, boys.
Chourizo, their version of chorizo is a killer.
Please notice that I start my weekend revealing some of my secrets!

Hilarious post, CB! All true, I am an ex-New Yorker. The real lowdown.

Gente! Enough of the food talk. Me estan matando!
I live in Raleigh,NC so I don't have to tell you about the "quality" of the Cuban food here.
Gracias a Dios, I go to Miami at least once a year where we "load up"
Mi favorito: Pastelito de guayaba......caliente!
I can eat those till I pass-out.
BlogOn!

A.M. Mora y Leon,
I am an ex-New-Yorker-to-be.
But in the meantime, I enjoy food, and I became a food hunter in all the extension of the word. You will see that I "don't do" restaurants that much. Not anymore. No, I don't have my own....
But you certainly will see some of my recipes in the Babalu Cookbook section that Val is giving to all of us, I enjoy cooking and home and sharing the recipes and learning...
I enjoy food. And I enjoy cooking. It's very relaxing, too.
Certainly, I even can find sour oranges in NYC. Where? Chinatown, given, there you will have to get engaged in some linguistic Kung Fu to get what you want, but it's worthy... Some bodegas in the East Village, in certain places in Jersey... And like that with everything!

¡¡¡¡COÑO ESTAMOS HABLANDO DE COMIDA CUBANA!!!!
¡¡¡¡¡QUE RRRRRRRRRRIIIIIIICOOOOOOO!!!!!

Bueno, a compay KillCastro:

Mercedes Recipe is excellent and so I won't give one! However, if you can get your hands on a butcher, you may want to have the ground meat to be 1/3 beef 1/3 pork and 1/3 ham. TAMBIEN... if you want a freaking awesome frita substitute beef for ground Spanish Sausage. By the way... the beef/pork/ham combination makes for a kick ass picadillo and carne fria.

Hablando de la soda:

I love Ironbeer... but Jupiña is the freakin' best! And lets not forget the much neglected Cocorico which is awesome in the summer. Materva and Malta Hautey are dietary staples for any Cuban. And guys you have to try Quinabeer which is like Ironbeer's sexy sister.

HABLANDO DEL CAFE (this I'll keep short, because I can go on forever)

If anyone want's to make the espumita for Cafe Cubano and is having trouble. Here is a quick remedy: For any given amount of Sugar use 1/3 of el tinto del cafe (that's the first few tar like drops that come out of the la cafetera). If you use a tetera, like me, then save the sugar in a separate container and when el cafe, saliendo del colador, se pone bien obscuro catch 1/3 in a spoon and mix in the sugar. After the sugar has mixed con el cafe, beat the living day lights out of it until the color turns from brown to tan (if it turns white you've gone to far), mix in el Cafe constantly stirring it and don't stop stirring it until you've served everyone (this rule is also true for Azucar Prieta). Bueno, I'll stop here, porque de comida cubana... y DEL CAFE no hay espacio en todo que puedo hablar.

Oh... almost forgot...

1) Val... YES I'M IN for the food blog thing!

2) Holy shit am I hungry

3) When in Miami

Frita Domino is the bet place to get frita's.

Las Palmas is the best place to get Churros.

Palacio de los Jugos is the ultimate for Coco Frio's and Guarapo.

Mojitos is the best place to get, well, a mojito.

Y para el mejor Cafe pasate por mi casa.

Killcastro, I do not remember the academy but I remember that Coyula was also the name of the avenue that ran to the Columbia airfield and ended there, if you turned right you kept going to western Miramar and if you turned left I believe you ended up at "Coni Ailan" , and the beach clubs like La concha, El casino Espanol, Club nautico and el laguito.

I used to be scared the la montana rusa de madera they had at coney island, Bush gardens did not have anything on it. My granpa used to take me to go fishing near there from the diente de perro, we would catch cabrillas, rabirubias y ronquitos. The water was so clear you could sometimes see huge jaibas moving accross the sandy bottom.

We had a neighbor from the Dominican Republic that was so black she shone blue, she used to baby sit me when I was a baby, she would fry them for us bien adobaditos in olive oil and onions with limon criollo and serve them over white rice with tostones. I would get Cawy and her and granpa would have a Polar while we all snacked, she was always wanting to spoil the hell out of me, my third abuela that woman was. Granpa and my blood abuela would always make sure she did not want for anything. But could that woman cook!

She always would call me tati, and would let me know when el chino Ramon had good chickens. I remember those chickens had great grease, it wouldn't come off unless you had warm water and jabon blanco to wash your hands with. Not like the chicken we get here that you can wash off the grease with cold water only. Those pollos cubiches were Good!!!

She would have my grandfather go bring some live ones back in a box with holes and she would wring their necks, boil the feathers so they would come off easily and make the best fricase de pollo you have ever tasted, con papas, cebolla, aceitunas, salsa de tomate, vino seco, y mas.

Ay Dios mio, que cosa nos callo arriba con estos communistas hijos de P

Songuacassal :
Thanks for the tip , I was talking to mi viejo , and he agrees we NEED to MIXA DA MEATS !
He also remebers some great Frita place in La Habana Vieja and their "secret" was some grounded chrizo into the mix, I guess some ecellent "El EBRO" hehhe with all that yellowish DELICIOUS grease ,I carajo pero que hambre me da esto! All we have in NYC is Chorizos Goya , but I think I ma going to exeriment with one of those instead of Pimenton.

Totally forgot anout Jupiña ! hmmm hmmm . Come to thnk of it we had more types of soft drinks in Cuba tahn the USA , since we did have all the regular stuff like Coca-Cola, Pepsi , Canada Dry etc.
I remeber as a lil kid walking by the cornet grocery (well agan speaking of PLENITUDE OF FOOD , we had 6 grocery stores in a 4 block radius, 2 pharmacies, two bakeries and one HUGE supermarket and THIS in a blue collar area in Marianao!) so I would be playng "bolas" or something and would see the adults at the corner with a COLD beer playing "cubilete" and MAN how much did I want to grow up and have me an Hatuey or Polar. Unfortunately when I went back all the groceries stores were closed and in the one that was open there was no beer NOR cubilete.
Castro you motherfucking piece of putrid scum , what did you do to OUR country!?

cohetedude:
You are right there WAS a Coyula Ave and the Academy was there! It did wind up to Columbia and that is were *I* lived , just off the fence ( two blocks of the northern fence) matter of fact Diaz Lanz was a close neighbor while he worked in Aerovias Q I'd see him go by in his impecable unifor and I wanted to be hwatever"Jose Luis" did cause he was so cool.
When he bombarded the airfiled prior to the Bay of pigs treason , he overflew our houses and tipped his wings to the neighbors and almost buzzed his moms house. When the new pilots starting taking off and they knew Dias Lanz was up there they just didnt go up.
They talk about the kid who wrote Fidel in blood , all a staged acted, none of that happened the whole thing was over in 10 minutes and there were no Cuban casulaties since Lanz only detroye dthe airfield and popped a couple of planes on the tramac.

The BIG propaganda was that an a Yanki bomb (with a very nitid MADE IN THE USA label) had landed in a private house , not only landed in the house , landed in a sofa ! with the USAabel pointing outwards (this was on calle 80 entre 21 y 23 ) as we were looking at this the SUMO hijo de puta shows up and as I am walking down the steps he is going up and gave me a "yiti" just WACK ! no frigging reason for this . I have the dubious distinction of having been yitied by Castro twice one at 6 years ld in front of Casalta wheere I was drwing on the side walk and his contingenet showed up to clear the restaurant so HE could have dinner , as he walked past me ,again POW a yity! My shrink says that is were my hatred towards him comes from.

"Coni ayland" was a short bus ride from my house and we would make a whole day of it , beach in the AM , amuzement park in the afternoon and some great food at night. I admit I coudl never do th Montaña Rusa at Cony Island .. but I was fine with the one at Jalisco Park (yeah I was a wooz)

I wa thinking of "ronquitos" today .ne thing this blog has given is whole new welath of conversation with my dad that dont have naything to to do with MY life NOE , just hang out with el viejo and chat about fishing o el culo de la mulata del frente..
a sweet child memories :

Killcastro, Cohetedude:
Good chicken can be found in NYC, pretty good ones. At specialty shops in the city (Zabar's and others) Avoid Chinatown, or you will buy the inheritance of Chairman Mao.
Look for organic free range chickens. Expensive, but really juicy and good. Also in some old haunts in Washington Heights, but not there you can't find all other items you might crave.
In the same stores, all your need for olives, real chorizo, real coffee, etc.... (Zabar's even has a top floor devoted to kitchen utensils, heaven)
CB

As I was drowning my Miami homesickness in a cup of Cafe Pilon, I recalled some people talking about Nouveau/New Cuban Food and I started laughing. After all, in Cuba the new food is drinking Cafe made from 80% Chickpeas, or frying up and seasoning a piece of trapo to simulate a bistec. Now, I do admit that I, like many Cuban Americans, stretch the usage and possibility of Naranja Agria and Mojo Criollo to unbelievable heights (like Mojo is good in chicken salad). I guess I just found the notion of Nouveau/New Cuban a little funny, since the Cuba of today eat's so very little.

Hablando de mulatas con buen culo, hoy estaba viendo la pelicula cay-Woman coh halley berry en DVD and she reminded me de las mulatas de fuego de nosotros. Ay Dios mio!!!! Si me coge la mujer pensando asi!

You see Songuacassal, you're also doing some Nouveau... It's a purely Cuban American phenomenon, since in Cuba they don't have the two opportunities that the Cuban American cook have: Either you remain anchored in the past, or you innovate. I certainly prefer to innovate, but I don't buy some of the senseless concoctions made by some of the so called star chefs. I prefer to innovate departing from tradition and from experience, and from the old tasty recipes.
Otherwise, cooking is opening a time capsule with a date label of your liking.
Another thing why Nouveau Cuban is totally Cuban American is because it comes from the influences that Cuban cooks met here in the U.S.of A.
Here one can "meet" different cuisines and different styles. You can take whatever you want or like and incorporate it to your own repertoire.
There's nothing wrong in doing an old recipe, but by the same token, there is nothing wrong in taking an old recipe and innovate with it. Again, it'll depend on the cook. If the cook is good, you're guarantee to eat something good. If not, well, disgrace happens.
In another level, think where the new Cuba is for real. It's not in Cuba certainly.... It is in all of us, not in the ruins that cagastro has under his stinky feet. So that's not new food in Cuba, it's cagastro, his tyranny and desperation in Cuba what makes people eat junk and poison.
Many of us were doing Nouveau Cuban well before a marketing wiz came out with that name... And way before it became the province of some chefs.
Mojo is a great invention... You'll agree with me that Mojo is not what you can buy inside a bottle of Goya (or some other "ethnic" brand) in a supermarket, as you surely have found already. You need to make your mojo to get your mojo going!

Cuban food!! Croquetas. Cafecito (bien echo, y en una tacita de verdad). Fritas ...
Stop it! It's Monday morning already. I am at work. I am getting hungry (really hungry) for Cuban food. I live in Sydney. In Australia. You know how far you've got to go to get Cuban food here? Except for the albondigas and ropa vieja my Mum makes ....

Good morning!

All you displaced (misplaced?)Cuban-Americans out there! My heart goes out to you - I assume you all know about this web site: http://www.cubanfoodmarket.com/ - right?

You can buy practically everything! Click the "Groceries/Produce" tab at the top left of the screen you can access everything.

Buen provecho!

What do you call PIMENTON in English ????
My local Italian herbs place looked at me like I was from ... er.... Cuba. !
;)

CB: I can't stand the bottled stuff, and so I always make my Mojo. One for the pig, another for the yuca and a Mojito to wash it all down ;-). And in terms of New Cuban being Cuban-American food, okay I get it... I might not like the name... but I get it.

Hilda: Cubanfoodmarket.com also has the absolute best store in Miami: Sentir Cubano. It's right across from the Universal book store. And it is the MECCA of Cuban food and memorabilia. I could live and die there if possible.

KillCastro: The english word for Pimenton, if I'm not mistaken, is Pimento. What I generally see on cans, though, is Canned Italian Sweet Red Peppers.

Thanks Song:
I'll try to ask for it. But I thought PIMENTON was like a powder like stuff ?!
I live in Howard Beach (Home of now deceased Mr. John Gotti so the Italian stuff around here is PRIMO)
I was at Rincon Cubano on my last trip to Miami .. TOTALLY by coincidence ( I made a U turn in middle of Calle Ocho (man was I lost) and THERE IT WAS !.
Great people. GREAT stuff. The owner and I had a 2 hour talk just about EVERYTHING Cuban.
Later I found they also ran cubanfoodmarket.com ... Hmm hmm GOOD! They shipped overnight 3 loaves of Cuban bread. LOTTA money but man that WAS Cuban bread!
There is actually a specific type of Italian bread that is VERY similar to the Cuban “Pan de Manteca”
Let’s remember we do have PAN DE AGUA y PAN DE MANTECA ;)

Killcastro, pimenton es paprika. You estaba seguro pero llame a la vieja po' si acaso y me lo verifico. Pimento son los aji (pimientos) morrones colorados.

Tu sabe una de las cosas para que son buenos los Pimientos morrones?

Cocinas masas de pargo criollo en una bandeja con rosemary y vino seco blanco, coges las masitas y las secas, haces una cremita con queso crema, pimientos picaditos, pedacitos de ajo molido, mesclas tambien las masitas bien picadits, echale un chorrito de limon criollo, y rellena pastelitos como los de carne con eso, y se ornea con un poquito de almibar de azucar untada arriba con una brochita.
La vieja me enseño bien enseñao.

You guys are right on the money with those names. Paprika is pimenton (powder) Pimento is the sweet red bell pepper...
Song, yeah, such is life... There's some innovation in Cuba though, but it's just due to scarcity... la necesidad es la madre de la invencion. Not fancy, not interesting... sad and depressing.
Now, at some point, the black market with like minded anticommunist Eastern Europeans introduced me to certain thinks that I didn't know: rose petals jam (Bulgaria) pink champagne (or similar to champagne) also from Bulgaria and an Hungarian wine that you can find at Trader Joe's Egri Bikaver, or Bull's Blood from Eger... That and the occasional can of caviar traded to a Russian for some rum or cigars. That's life behind closed doors in Havana before 1992.
Take note of this:
Humberto Fontova will be signing his book on Thurdsay March 24, from 7:30 to 9:00 pm at las Palmas Restaurant, 6153 Bergenline Avenue, West New York, New Jersey 07093
Contact person: Rafael Fabre 908 307 8989

Correct phone number is 908 377 8989

CB :
It is faster for me to get to Miami than to NJ & Bergneline ave! and I am NOT exagerating
I would love to meet Humberto ( since we are tocayos ) and even our last names have the first initial. Any plans to do something in NYC? Like at Lasaro's for example ? I thin Ibea would be up to something like that.
Is Humberto going to be on O'Rallys tonight ?

CB :
It is faster for me to get to Miami than to NJ & Bergneline ave! and I am NOT exagerating
I would love to meet Humberto ( since we are tocayos ) and even our last names have the first initial. Any plans to do something in NYC? Like at Lasaro's for example ? I thin Ibea would be up to something like that.
Is Humberto going to be on O'Rallys tonight ?

Also in FOX & Friends today at 7 am.... I don't know of any NYC plans...

Also in FOX & Friends today at 7 am.... I don't know of any NYC plans...

KillCastro:
For me too is difficult to get there and them back home. It becomes an odissey of sorts. I got the information courtesy of my non-Cuban mother in law, who got it from one of her students, whose father is the one organizing the pow-wow at Las Palmas. To tell you just a bit, between arriving there and parking it would take me about one hour and half if not more. It becomes like a five hour event, including my roundtrip... all of that if we just keep quiet in the back of the room which I don't think is possible!

hehehe... so Pimenton is not Pimento... that could explain some things!!!