The food….or I should say ooooh the food.
Whilst it’s true that no-one comes to Cuba for the food, the traveler has the expectation of being able to find food at meal times.
I must say that at the beginning at least, it was trial and error. Often the menu displayed at establishments looked rather promising, but it’s a show. Several times now I have been tempted into a place and ordered but the waiter shakes his head rather sadly and says “sorry, no that’s not possible”.
On my first evening here I was lulled into a false sense of security when I ordered fish and vegetables. It was my first choice and was absolutely divine. I rather rashly concluded things had improved since my friend Suzanne’s visit and her advice to take snacks; plenty of them. I’m glad I did.
In Habana (this is how the locals refer to their capital city so I will continue to use that spelling); I ended up having a sweet cake for breakfast, and that was certainly not my first choice. I’d been wandering for over two hours and was desperate; many more listed items were unavailable.
For another breakfast I ordered the least offending item on the menu; a toasted cheese and tomato sandwich. The bread was a very unappetizing yellow colour! Thank goodness for all the nuts I bought in the USA.
At one establishment (the waiter said it was a very good restaurant and it looked it) I ordered fish and vegetables which the waiter assured me was available. Soon I overheard the waiter on the phone asking for vegetables. Some time later, some beans arrived on a plate and presented to the waiter. I swear these exact same beans were incorporated into my sautéed veges. The fish – it was wedged between ham and cheese (!!!) and deep fried in bread crumbs. Now that’s a first. Yikes!
After writing this, in Varadero, I happened upon the Barracuda restaurant beside the beach where I ate red snapper, prepared simply. It was DIVINE. It’s also difficult to imagine more superb setting in the world.
Aside from the Barracuda Restaurant, my very best food experiences have been at casa particulares (homes of locals) and I ate in. What a refreshing contrast! Another of the many contrasts here in Cuba. The food was tasty and plentiful.
For breakfast my Habana host, Pepe, was able to secure, pineapple, mango, bananas, guava, watermelon etc. For dinner I had fried (the most popular method of cooking) chicken, cucumber, beetroot, kumara, tomato, cabbage etc. Many vegetables are organic and what flavour! My casa hosts never join me at the table which feels extremely uncomfortable.
Likewise at my casa hosts in Trinidad were truly wonderful. The meals are absolutely superb and such variety. Again, the food is put on the table and I am left to eat it.
The people are truly kind, and having a “turista” gives them more rights to particular food, quantity and of course (much needed) additional money.
As an aside, casa’s are registered with the government and my personal details are noted.
Whilst it’s true that no-one comes to Cuba for the food, the traveler has the expectation of being able to find food at meal times.
I must say that at the beginning at least, it was trial and error. Often the menu displayed at establishments looked rather promising, but it’s a show. Several times now I have been tempted into a place and ordered but the waiter shakes his head rather sadly and says “sorry, no that’s not possible”.
On my first evening here I was lulled into a false sense of security when I ordered fish and vegetables. It was my first choice and was absolutely divine. I rather rashly concluded things had improved since my friend Suzanne’s visit and her advice to take snacks; plenty of them. I’m glad I did.
In Habana (this is how the locals refer to their capital city so I will continue to use that spelling); I ended up having a sweet cake for breakfast, and that was certainly not my first choice. I’d been wandering for over two hours and was desperate; many more listed items were unavailable.
For another breakfast I ordered the least offending item on the menu; a toasted cheese and tomato sandwich. The bread was a very unappetizing yellow colour! Thank goodness for all the nuts I bought in the USA.
At one establishment (the waiter said it was a very good restaurant and it looked it) I ordered fish and vegetables which the waiter assured me was available. Soon I overheard the waiter on the phone asking for vegetables. Some time later, some beans arrived on a plate and presented to the waiter. I swear these exact same beans were incorporated into my sautéed veges. The fish – it was wedged between ham and cheese (!!!) and deep fried in bread crumbs. Now that’s a first. Yikes!
After writing this, in Varadero, I happened upon the Barracuda restaurant beside the beach where I ate red snapper, prepared simply. It was DIVINE. It’s also difficult to imagine more superb setting in the world.
Aside from the Barracuda Restaurant, my very best food experiences have been at casa particulares (homes of locals) and I ate in. What a refreshing contrast! Another of the many contrasts here in Cuba. The food was tasty and plentiful.
For breakfast my Habana host, Pepe, was able to secure, pineapple, mango, bananas, guava, watermelon etc. For dinner I had fried (the most popular method of cooking) chicken, cucumber, beetroot, kumara, tomato, cabbage etc. Many vegetables are organic and what flavour! My casa hosts never join me at the table which feels extremely uncomfortable.
Likewise at my casa hosts in Trinidad were truly wonderful. The meals are absolutely superb and such variety. Again, the food is put on the table and I am left to eat it.
The people are truly kind, and having a “turista” gives them more rights to particular food, quantity and of course (much needed) additional money.
As an aside, casa’s are registered with the government and my personal details are noted.
I´m missing.....toast!
I´m loving....the honey. It´s sublime and if NZ and Australia didn´t ban it....I would bring back a supply.
Photos ' The Cuban flag and ¨Che¨
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