¡Viva las comidas Cubanas! ¡Viva Havana Grill!
Often, the divisive machinations of international politics interfere with our ability to visit a distant country, learn from, and understand a foreign culture. For generations, this was a truism for such one-time enemies as China, Russia and Vietnam. That is, until the thawing Cold War – and the prospect of making lots of money from the exchange of tourists – encouraged governments to cast aside some old enmities and permit their citizens to visit each other’s lands.
Sadly, this does not apply to Cuba. The island nation 90 miles off the coast of Florida and its iconic leader, Fidel Castro, remains a pariah to Washington. In 1960, a year after Castro ousted former President Fulgencio Batista (himself no Boy Scout) and aligned himself as a Marxist with the Soviet Union, our government imposed myriad economic and diplomatic sanctions on Cuba. These included trade embargoes and travel bans, all devised with the mistaken and naïve belief that doing so would spur the average downtrodden Cuban to rise up and overthrow Castro. Yet, after nearly a half-century, Castro is still going strong, and we Americans still cannot legally travel to Cuba – unless we go there via Canada, the Bahamas or Mexico, which don’t have the same political hang-ups as we do.
Much of the pressure to maintain the status quo against Castro stems from the disproportionate influence exerted on our government by thousands of Cuban exiles living in the United States. These well-intentioned folks hold on to the anachronistic dogma that maintaining a hard line against Castro will eventually lead to his downfall.
Consequently, the closest many of us will ever get to experience Cuban culture is the occasional illicit cigar and the ensemble musicians who make up the Buena Vista Social Club – and even they would otherwise remain unheard if not for the apolitical genius of guitarist, songwriter and producer Ry Cooder.
While the vast majority of Cuban expatriates live in South Florida, we are fortunate to have many residing here in Southern Nevada. Through them, we can take vicarious trips to the sandy beaches and sugar cane fields of Cuba, accompanied by the intoxicating beat of salsa music. Moreover, we can eat their food; luckily for us all, there are several fine Cuban restaurants serving up native dishes in the Las Vegas area. One of the best, opening a flavorful window on a country so close yet so far from our shores, is the Havana Grill.
For those of us living in the Southwest, the first question invariably is, How does Cuban food compare to Mexican food? Is it as hot and spicy? Do they serve tortillas with everything? Well, truth be told, there is no comparison. And there are no tortillas.
My first personal brush with Cuban cuisine was with a Cuban sandwich purchased one day for lunch from a restaurant near my office. The combination of pork, ham, cheese and pickles, layered and pressed in delicious Cuban bread, tantalized my taste buds and fueled my curiosity about other dishes indigenous to the Forbidden Isle. So, when I learned that the Havana Grill was a short drive from our house, I talked Mrs. Eater into going for a late lunch on a Saturday afternoon.
A sister to the Florida Café in downtown Las Vegas, Havana Grill sits next to the theaters in the Colonnade Center, on the northeast corner of Eastern Avenue and Pebble Road, just north of I-215 in Henderson. Neither of us was sure what to expect, but from the moment we entered the restaurant – with its pleasing interior of stonework, tropical plants and wallpaper and Cuban paintings – we had a good notion that we had stumbled onto something wonderful.
Taking our seat at a table next to a Plexiglas wall separating the dining room from the adjoining bar, we perused a menu that was exotic and foreign yet set our mouths to watering. Havana Grill offers an array of appetizers including tostones (thick-cut and fried plantains with such toppings as cheese, beef and shrimp), papas rellenas (deep-fried mashed potato balls filled with seasoned beef), chorizo frito (sliced, fried spicy Spanish sausage) and chicharrónes (fried pork skins). There also are red- and black-bean soups, sopa de pollo (made with chicken and potato) and several choices of salad.
The menu (which includes vegetarian as well as children’s selections) features several varieties of Cuban sandwiches priced from $8.95 to $10.95, including the traditional sandwich Cubano and variations made with shredded pork, chicken and fried steak. The sandwiches are huge (a gentleman at a nearby table shared his with a friend) and come with a choice of plantain chips or fries.
The main menu offers a boatload of pork, beef and chicken dishes. Among these are boliche mechado (slow-cooked eye of beef round stuffed with chorizo) for $14.95; vaca frita (marinated flank steak served in lemon, lime, garlic, orange juice and spices) for $15.95; chuletas de puerco (pork chops marinated in lemon, olive oil and garlic) for $14.95, and pollo frito (deep-fried chicken breast marinated in a garlic mojo) for $13.95. On the seafood menu is enchilado de camarones (prawns in a tomato salsa-based stew) for $18.95 and filete de salmon (salmon marinated in garlic butter and Cuban spices, served with a mango chutney) for $17.95. For our late lunch, I chose ropa vieja (literally, “old clothes”), shredded beef simmered with tomatoes, peppers and onions in a tomato wine broth ($15.95) while Mrs. Easter selected mariscadas, a stew of shrimp, scallops, mussels, clams and calamari ($24.95). We each also ordered a side of moros y cristianos (“Moors and Christians”), a combination of black beans, white rice and pork. Our total tab, including tax and two non-alcoholic beverages, was $48.27.
Mrs. Eater: Loved it, the food was exquisite.
Mr. Eater: Was it what you expected? Or what did you expect?
Mrs. Eater: I loved it. It was delicious.
Mr. Eater: My meal had terrific flavor, the meat was cooked just right. I may not have been as crazy about the moros as I probably should have been, but it was OK too.
Mrs. Eater: It would have been really good if the other food hadn’t been so exquisite. I just kept eating and eating to the point that I didn’t have room for the rice, so I don’t know if it was good or not. Mine had the most flavorful base, the base broth, which was the best I’ve ever eaten. My taste buds were dancing!
Mr. Eater: They were salsa dancing.
Mrs. Eater: Yeah, they were salsa dancing. I do want to go back.
Mr. Eater: Me too, and next time I will have a mojito or two, so you may need to be the designated driver.
Mrs. Eater: We’ll call a cab if we need to.
And now, The Forks (on a scale of 1 to 5):
• Quality of food: 4.9 forks
• Value: 4 forks
• Cleanliness: 5 forks
• Ambience: 4 forks
• Friendliness of staff: 5 forks
• Parking: 4 forks
• Accessibility: 5 forks
Havana Grill is located at 8878 S. Eastern Ave., Henderson, NV 89074. Hours are Sunday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-11 p.m. and until 2 a.m. Friday and Saturday. Call (702) 932-9310. Visit havanagrillcuban.com.
