Guantanamera

In honor of the US and Cuba re-establishing diplomatic relations and the opening of embassies, it's time I finished this post on Guantanamera! This new Cuban spot in a strip center at the northwest corner of Westgate and William Cannon, is a welcome change from your standard Tex Mex or sub sandwich shops, and a friend and I recently met for lunch. The Cuban owner previously worked at Habana, the long-time staple on South Congress.

We both started with mojitos, which were tasty, but a bit on the weak side. As an appetizer, we picked the cheese and beef empanadas. While fried, they weren't greasy, and the beef one in particular had great flavor.

After some deliberation, we just picked two items and agreed to share everything. Starting with the ropa vieja, which was a very generous serving of stewed beef. And it was all the things it should be: tender, moist, and tasty, though a bit heavy on the salt. The rice, known as congris, however was a different story. Super dry, and nothing going on with it. Pretty certain this was last night's rice, which is a shame. This could have been a superb dish with the proper rice, although perhaps our pick of sweet potato fries as a side wasn't the best, as they were on the dry side too. (I have since spoken to one other person who has eaten there and encountered the same issue with the rice, but another person has said their rice was fine.)

And the Cuban sandwich, which I am no expert on, but both of us ate every bite of our respective halves. It was pressed nicely, and the roasted pork wasn't dry. We got a side of maduros with the sandwich, and they were good, but at five small pieces, it seemed... small.

Now when we arrived for lunch, there was one big group of about 10 - 12 people, and a few other filled tables. There were two servers there, if memory serves, so busy, but not slammed. But we had ordered the tostones as an appetizer, and they never came, so we had to ask for them. They needed salt for sure, and a little bit of salt right when they came out of the fryer would have been a bit more beneficial. But they were decent.

So while the rice was a major issue, and a few other issues like a weak drink and having to ask for the tostones, I would definitely go back. I'd love to try some of the other dishes like the lechon asado and see if the rice and salting issues have improved. But certainly a welcome addition to the South Austin food scene, just as a thaw in diplomatic relations is a blessing for the Cuban people.

Recent Eats

A few of the places I have been this past month. I was extremely fortunate to have been the plus one to a media tasting dinner at laV, the newly opened French restaurant at 1501 East 7th. It was fabulous all around!

Best sparkling rose I've had because it wasn't too dry for my tastes, Cremant de Limoux, Cuvee Rose, Domaine Collin NV, and it paired wonderfully with the chicken liver pate. As managing partner and lead sommelier Vilma Mazaite said, the pate is filled with butter and cream, so what's not to like? Accompanying it was brioche toast points, berry preserves, cornichons, and mustard. LaV and Winebelly probably have two of the best pates in town.

The next course was a sweet pea agnolotti, filled with ricotta, with a pea puree on the bottom, and pressed strawberries and pea shoots on top. It was as beautiful and tasty as it looks.

Roast chicken isn't something I would normally order at a restaurant, but this one is special. Executive Chef Allison Jenkins said they salt the chickens the night before, and then roast at 600 degrees, breast-side down, for an hour. Served with perfectly-roasted fingerling potatoes, on the regular menu, this dish serves two and runs $48. And worth every penny.

The bouillabaisse was chock full of head-on blue shrimp, clams, squid, and had a distinct orange flavoring to it's broth. And no, that's not French's mustard on the rustic bread, but rather rouille, a saffron and garlic sauce, similar in texture to an aioli (I was unfamiliar with rouille before this!).

Dessert was lemon and mascarpone budino with local Poteet strawberries, and brioche doughnuts. I could have licked the lovely blue ceramic bowl clean of its velvety contents!

LaV has it all going for themselves -- beautiful decor, superb service, and most importantly, outstanding food. They also have a very extensive wine list (several thousand bottles are housed in the private tasting room we were in) and highly knowledgeable staff. Surely this place will be ranking high on the top places to eat in Austin. Make a reservation and experience for yourselves.

And a few other meals of note. Dinner with a friend at my neighborhood Elizabeth Street Cafe. This is the #20, house specialty banh mi, which they gracefully let me substitute the roast pork for the marinated. They make their baguettes in-house, and it's the perfect consistency for this sandwich.

A media tasting for the new summer menu at NoVa. This was the Parmesan risotto, which several of us shared, and it was hard not to eat it all myself!

We then moved a few doors down to Bangers. It was a rainy evening on Rainey Street, so we sat inside. Extremely loud! And as this was my first visit to Bangers, I was a bit overwhelmed by both the food and drink menus. Ended up with the bockwurst (they make all their own sausages, and even have fresh ones available to take home) and Crispin pear cider.

The movie Chef (see previous blog post) made me extremely hungry for a Cuban sandwich. This one from the Texas Cuban trailer on South Lamar hit the spot!

And finally, after watching a friend make pasta, I decided to dust off my pasta maker, and give it another try. The dough recipe couldn't be simpler: 1 cup of all purpose or double zero flour to 2 eggs. That's it. No salt in the dough, but salt your pasta water liberally. It all came together easily, and after repeated passes through the pasta machine, I had dough, which I cut (imprecisely) into pappardelle.

Which then became dinner with fresh fava beans, pecorino romano cheese, fresh mint, and just a little bit of bacon. I am pretty proud of this dish!

So, just a little peek into my food world. Some of these pictures I previously posted on Instagram. Where have you been lately that's good?