Las Palmeras Cuban Cuisine - Midtown

Fajitas.

Las Palmeras is a quirky, hole in the wall Cuban restaurant tucked into Atlanta's midtown neighborhood. Although the service can be a bit slow when they are busy, the food is well worth it and the family-run place has been around for a long time. The Cuban sandwich is one of the best in the city and I also love the fruity milkshakes. The location is a bit hard to find so you should definitely print out and map and/or believe your GPS when it tells you to go down a residential street - the restaurant and attached store is the only business on the block.

We recently took my dad here and service was exceptionally slow; however, we still enjoyed our food and the view from the cozy patio. The wait was mostly on the front end, however. Once we placed our order the food came pretty quickly - it was just that initial wait for someone to take our drink order etc. that can really set the meal off on the wrong foot. It would help a lot if they could bring out some bread first off, maybe with some dip or sauce. Then the wait wouldn't seem quite as long! It appears that they often have only one waitress/server/greeter and this is way too much for one person on a busy night. Still, it's worth a try if you know in advance it might be a little slow as the food really is good.

Cuban sandwich.



Maduros (sweet plantains) with roasted chicken and black beans/rice mix.

El Siboney Cuban Restaurant - Key West

Roast Pork, yuca and tamale.

One of the most consistent recommendations we received was for El Siboney Cuban Restaurant. Lucky for us, this place lived up to the hype. A family run, basic place - this is right up my alley. The roast pork was moist and flavorful, made even better by hot sauce. The fish was fresh and spiced just right. I love maduros and these were no exception. If you are in Key West and want some authentic Cuban cuisine, go here!

The plain exterior holds delicious surprises!



Fish with maduros, rice and beans.

Havana Grill

Cuban Sandwich.

On a recent trip down Buford Highway, Calvin and I decided to check out Havana Grill, which comes with its own family saga. You order at the counter, then sit down and wait for your food to arrive. We tried some maduros (not pictured) as well as the Cuban sandwich and the beef picadillo, served with beans, rice, bread and salad. Everything was really tasty, especially the black beans and rice, which could definitely stand alone in a big way. This place offers many traditional Cuban dishes and is in my opinion, the closest thing to the original Havana that burned down in 2008. Hopefully I'll be back soon to try something else!

Beef Picadillo with beans, rice, salad and bread.

Get a Cuban from Papi's

Cuban sandwich.

Last week we had dinner at Papi's Cuban & Caribbean Grill, which is now full service (no more ordering at the counter). Both the Cuban sandwich and the Mariscos de Puerco were excellent. I'd order the sandwich over the pork dish next time, though. It was really tasty. I also tried a mamey milkshake (from Wikipedia: The fruit's flavor is variously described as a combination of pumpkin, sweet potato and maraschino cherries, with the texture of an avocado. Some consider the fruit to be an aphrodisiac), which tasted good and sweet but not really very fruity (and I'm not sure about the aphrodisiac part!). Papi's has two other locations also, one in Kennesaw and one in Stockbridge.

Masitas de Puerco.

Tuesday Night "Mexican" - Salsa Con Sabor

Tuesday night Mexican has become a tradition for one of my favorite groups - the UUCA 20's/30's. This week we ventured to Salsa Con Sabor, a restaurant specializing in Peruvian, Puerto Rican and Cuban cuisine (I know, none of these are Mexican, so we aren't exactly stuck to only one cuisine and to me, that's a good thing!). Going with a large group gave me the opportunity to take lots of great photos, and while I did not taste everything nor do I remember what everything is called, I will do my best. As far as the atmosphere of this place, our group of about ten was just about the only party in the place. This could be because they did not have any heat - yes, many of us were glad we had coats with us and we donned them for the entire meal! The service was a little slow considering how empty the place was, but the waiter was helpful and indulged us as we asked questions about Spanish pronunciations, ingredients and the meaning of "Salsa Con Sabor". My favorite thing here is the ceviche, although the spicy, creamy seafood is a close second. This is a good place to come experience a variety of cuisines and with a HUGE menu, I don't think you'll have a problem finding something - that is, unless you are a vegetarian as the person in our group who didn't eat meat was forced to eat french fries!

Chicken fricasse with sweet plantains and rice.



Mofongo (mashed, fried plantain ball), top, and chicken and beef kabobs.



Puerto Rican spaghetti, at least I think this was Puerto Rican - if not, please remind me someone!



Ceviche de Pescado - they offer a mixed seafood version as well that I'd like to try next time.



Cuban sandwich with beans and rice.



Spicy, creamy seafood stew with rice and an egg!



Mofongo with roasted port, rice and sweet plantains.