Gleaming the ¡Cuba!

The island flavors are on point at this Latin haven.

by Elisa Ludwig

	print	email	reply	rss feed

Published: Jul 8, 2008

Michael T. Regan KING ME: ¡Cuba!'s rueda de sierra, or wild kingfish steak, is lightly floured and marinated in a bright mixture of lime juice and garlic. (CLICK IMAGE FOR LARGER VERSION)

If you are hit with a sudden craving for echon asado while strolling down German­town Avenue in Chestnut Hill, it probably has something to do with the sprightly Afro-Cuban jazz pouring out of ¡Cuba!

The music, audible from a block away, seems like a rightful indulgence in this understated restaurant that thankfully doesn't fetishize forbidden, romantic Cuba with Epcot décor. Instead, it delivers an authentic slice of the island's flavors in a pleasant, universal setting.

Miguel Angel Castañeda, a former travel agent who's owner and president of the ¡Cuba! corporation, has transformed a retail space into an fresh, elegant dining room with crown molding and hardwood floors. A sprinkling of votives gives the taupe-and-beige room a flicker of warmth. The restaurant also serves as a gallery, and the current exhibition, dramatic, large-scale paintings of women lounging around in European villas with bottles of Turning Leaf wine, must be seen to be believed.

The back room has more seating and a bar that is currently awaiting the go-ahead from L&I. In the meantime, you can bring wine or rum to be stirred into the fabulous house mojito mix, designed in consultation from a Havana hotel. (This can also be experienced via their mojito tea, a refreshing trademarked concoction where sugar, mint and lime juice are swirled into iced tea.)

Much like the late great Café Habana, ¡Cuba! eschews nuevo-style, guava-glazed, truffle-studded cuisine for homespun, soul-pleasing cooking. Croquetas, oblong bread-crumbed fritters of chicken mashed with peppers, olive oil, onion and garlic, come five to a plate and disappear quick. Fritas Cubanas are described as mini burgers, and though the round patties of ground beef, flecked with red and green pepper, are served naked, they prove to be surprisingly well-seasoned, putting a good many American-style counterparts to shame. Potaje de frijoles colorados, or red kidney bean soup, is as earthy and uncomplicated as it gets, straight-up beans in broth with chunks of softened potato and pork that perfumes the bowl with a vaguely smoky flavor. The garnish: a single black olive.

¡Cuba! really hits its stride with a sort of Creole combo plate offered on special with a mound of moros y cristianos (white rice and black beans); a few wedges of fantastically tender, fat-fringed lechon asado (slow-roasted pork scented with oregano and lime); fried plantains (you have a choice of savory tostones or sweet maduros); and a boiled tamale whose soft cornmeal encases salty nuggets of roast pork.

Delicious though it may be, at $28, this platter of rustic fare is on the pricey side. And while we're on the subject, charging $2 for a side order of beans with a $20-plus entrée seems a little chintzy. (Since our visits, Castañeda announced that he would increase portion sizes and lower prices, in some cases up to 25 percent.)

Much more fairly priced is the rueda de sierra, a horseshoe-shaped wild kingfish steak marinated in lime juice and garlic. Though it's fried, the light flouring is nearly imperceptible, the sauce fragrant with oregano. If you can work around the dozens of tiny bones, the oily, salmon-like fish is very rewarding.

Of the entrées, the greatest disappointment is one of the most basic staples of the Cubano repertoire: arroz con pollo. Here, the pollo turns out to be ill-advised and sparingly portioned chunks of skinless, boneless chicken breast; the only thing that's drier is the annatto-stained rice. (This dish has since been taken off the menu, most likely to return as a side dish, a restaurant staffer says.) A little fat would go a long way toward making it more edible.

¡Cuba! has been in "soft opening" stage for an inordinately long time — about six weeks — and yet the place hasn't been completely dekinked. Our host fiddled with the computer for several minutes before seating us even though the table was ready. Service, for the most part, flowed smoothly, but a side order of yuca con mojo was forgotten, our votives weren't lit until well into our entrées and we were rushed through our courses, with individual plates cleared before the table was ready to move on.

But our very enthusiastic, very young, very chatty server was certainly helpful, sharing her favorite choices on the menu — at dessert time, it was the flan she helped make. It was just as she described, smooth with condensed milk, tawny with caramelized sugar and served in a cake-like wedge.

The rest of the dessert options revolve around helados, ice creams made fresh for the restaurant by a Trenton purveyor. Among the available flavors are a not-too-sweet coconut with chocolate-covered almonds and a wonderfully subtle mango, both of which are crowned with a crisp pirouette cookie. (Paging Pepperidge Farm.) Then there's the check, which comes in a spicy-smelling cigar box — a touch that reminds you of the motherland without hitting you over the head with it.

That, mi amigo, is what the mojitos are for.

(e_ludwig@citypaper.net)

¡Cuba! | 8609 Germantown Ave., 215-967-1477, mycubanrestaurant.com | Hours: Tue.-Sat., 5-10 p.m.; Sun., 4-9 p.m.; closed Monday |Appetizers, $6-$8; Entrées, $16-$26 | BYOB | Reservations recommended

All reader comments are subject to our Terms of Use. By clicking Post Comment, you acknowledge that you have reviewed and agree to these Terms.

Name	please enter your name
Email (will not be published)	please enter a valid email
Comment	please enter a comment
Enter the security code on the right in the textbox below.
Security Code	please enter the code
	Join the City Paper Mailing List

Feeding Frenzy
State of the Union
PARC: Stephen Starr gives us the grand tour
The Week In Eats
PIGLFF Pit Stops