It was my first time being back in New York since 2013 and while staying in Garden City, I had the opportunity to check out my old stomping grounds, Roosevelt Field Mall. Oh my has it changed, but definitely for the better. There were so many dining establishments to choose from, but my party decided to go with Havana Central.
Havana Central has an aesthetically beautiful exterior facade that transports you right out of New York to the tropics. Now, I’ve never been to Cuba, but I was feeling the vibe because the restaurant’s exterior and interior was a pretty good match for my mind’s vision.
Before we talk about the food, let’s talk about the service.
Muy excelente! (I know it was cheesey, but I had to do it!…I don’t practice on my language app for nothing.)
As I was saying, from our hostess, to the wait staff (who indulged our picture taking request) and the personal visit from the manager, we couldn’t have asked for more. Good service smoothes over a multitude of errors and can extract patience out of the the busiest, most high-strung, and impatient people.
Thank you for the fantastic service Javier and crew.
We started off with drinks. I ordered a Classic (virgin) Mojito, someone else had the Ultimate Pina Colada (also virgin) and the others in our party of four had the Signature Red Sangria. We were all pleased with our choices.
Appetizer time did not disappoint. The Cuban Appetizer Sampler was the right move for the tentative, who only wanted to dip their foot in the waters of Cuban food. The sampler included empanadas, Chicharrones de pollo, masitas (Cuban Fried Pork), and maduros & tostones (sweet plantains and twice-fried green plantains) served with Chimichurri.
I loved almost everything. My favorite was the empanadas, but I definitely had love for the Maduros and fried pork. My least favorite was the tostones. It wasn’t my preference. I just found it to be a little bland.
The opposite of bland was our Havana Street Corn. It was so flavorful. Their menu describes it as zesty corn dusted with Latin cheeses and Cuban spices. I’ll go along with that. We could have ordered another tray of those. It was amazing.
For my entree. I had the Pernil Asado, which is slow roasted pork shoulder. It’s shredded and served with pickled onion and lime. I had my meal with yellow rice and black beans. The entree was delicious and what I liked most about the Pernil Asado was the clean taste of it. It was not drenched in spice, the star of the show was the pork.
The yellow rice and black beans were just plain comfort. Who doesn’t love a good comfort food? The two other ladies in my party ordered the ribs and wings (Costilla y Colitas). The ribs were prepared in rum and coke and topped with mango salsa and the wings were made Caribbean style.
They were pleasantly surprised with the sheer size of this order…it was massive. Both ladies ended up taking a fair share of their food back to the hotel to eat the next day.
I sooooooo wanted to try their desserts, but even if the taste buds want what the taste buds want, the stomach can only take but so much. Nonetheless, the restaurant’s dessert menu looked legit. It offered fried pineapple ice cream for its special of the month, and other dessert selections included flan, churros, and tres leches.
I think my stomach should have tried harder. Winners never quit!
Oh well! Now, I have even more reasons to come back. Thanks for my fantastic culinary Cuban experience Havana Central.
Multi Cultural Cooking Network 