Food in Cuba #SaturdaySnapshot #WeekendCooking
Our first taste of Cuban food came early in our trip – in Miami, the night before our flight to Cuba. The Latin Café was across from our airport hotel. The menu was large and varied with all-American food plus a selection of south-of-the border offerings.
The Latin Café apparently doesn’t have a liquor license, so cocktails weren’t an option. I’d hoped for my first mojito of the trip. Instead, I got sangria and Rick ordered a glass of champagne.
The most adventurous dish we ordered was yuca, also called cassava, a root vegetable that was prepared with onions and a citrusy sauce. We took it as a good sign that we both liked it!
Our first meal in Cuba was lunch the following day in Cienfuegos at a restaurant called Las Mamparas.
This meal set the tone for most of our meals in Cuba. We were offered a choice of chicken, fish, or pork. Cubans rarely eat beef. Cows are for milk and milk is for children.
The protein portion invariably came out perfectly grilled and tender. This was my chicken at our first lunch.
The side dishes were chef-selected and often served family style.
Typically, the meal began with a salad. Most often the salad was not tossed like American salads. It was a small selection of vegetables, almost always including shredded cabbage, arranged in a pretty manner on a platter. Oil and vinegar would be passed around in cruets.
Rick chose fish for his first meal.
Besides the salad, we often got rice with black beans (traditionally called Moors and Christians), fresh fruit, and dessert.
I’ll share more details about food in a future post. The meals got a bit more varied when we reached Havana.
Thanks for joining me for this week’s Saturday Snapshot. Check out West Metro Mommy Reads today for more Saturday Snapshots. I’ll also link this post to Weekend Cooking at Beth Fish Reads.
Here are my previous posts about our recent trip to Cuba:
- Photos of Entering Cuba
- Book review of Cuban Revelations by Marc Frank
- Photos of the Palacio de Valle
- Book review of Our Man in Havana by Graham Greene
- Photos of downtown Cienfuegos
Pingback:Anonymous
Looking forward to a taste of Havana.
I got a Cuban cookbook from the library a few months ago and had the best time cooking from it. The flavors were amazing. I can’t imagine actually being there. The chicken looks tasty and I love the idea of an assortment of vegetables being a salad.
All looks very yummy! My parents were snow birds in FL so we went to visit every winter and enjoyed FL style Cuban foods in little Havana. The plantains fried, not healthy but tasty!
The food looks fresh and delicious!
How unusual that you could get wine but not spirits! Cheers from Carole’s Chatter!
The salad does look delicious. Don’t know much about Cuban foods. Didn’t know they didn’t like much beef. The other two choices are just as good.
That sure looks good. We are big fans of Cuban cuisine and I whip up piccadilla or Arroz con pollo every so often.
Looking forward to details of your trip and seeing more food shots!
Yum!
Black beans and composed salads? I’m in!
How exciting that you visited Cuba!
How fabulous to go to Cuba. Food would be a big part of the experiences of the trip. I will look forward to seeing more…. including your mojitos.
Pingback:Trinidad, Cuba #SaturdaySnapshot | Joy's Book Blog
Pingback:Havana Nocturne #BookReview #SaturdaySnapshot | Joy's Book Blog
Pingback:Colors of Cuba Exhibit #SaturdaySnapshot | Joy's Book Blog
Pingback:Plaza de Armas, Havana, Cuba #SaturdaySnapshot | Joy's Book Blog
Pingback:Eating in Havana #WeekendCooking #SaturdaySnapshot | Joy's Book Blog
Pingback:Pinar del Rio, Cuba #SaturdaySnapshot #WeekendCooking | Joy's Book Blog
Yuummmmy! I love black beans and rice…and mojitos! I want to go traveling again soon. Your Cuba posts are making me want to go somewhere, anywhere!