Yesterday, my husband and I decided to ditch our diets and head down to a small, storefront Cuban restaurant in Burtonsville, Maryland. I was thoroughly prepared for this visit, as I had purchased a LivingSocial deal in advance, as well as checking out the online menu, directions, and photo gallery. I even went to the library and borrowed a Cuban cookbook so I'd know more about the dishes! I'm telling you, I don't mess around when it comes to my cheat meal of the month!
Even after looking at a map, programing the address into our GPS, AND studying photographs of the place, it was challenging to find Cuba de Ayer. Instead of facing the road, this storefront is at a 90 degree angle to the road so the sign is not very visible until you have turned into their narrow driveway. The front of the building looks slightly decrepit, with peeling blue and white paint, and the windows of the restaurant appeared dark, although it was open for business. But we heard lively Cuban music piped into the parking lot when we exited the car. That was encouraging.
As I mentioned, the entire menu is available online, prices included, which I think is a great feature as I am a control freak who likes to plan ahead. In detail. I already knew everything I was going to order before we walked through the door. Mr. Balancing Act, on the other hand, was a wild card.
Although you probably know I have a rule about never drinking my calories, the Cuban iced coffee convinced me to smash that rule to pieces. Mr. Balancing Act agreed, as he is a coffee fanatic as well. This concoction contained a double shot of Cuban espresso, sweetened condensed milk, whipped cream, and chocolate syrup. Oh, boy. Think coffee coolata Cuban-style. This was by far my favorite thing that we ordered. I only wished that at $4.95 the size could have been more generous. With less ice.
Along with our drinks, we ordered papas rellenos which is a deep-fried ball of mashed potato stuffed with ground beef. (See above photo.) Mr. Balancing Act and I split this single appetizer. It came with a house-made hot sauce in a bottle, the ingredients of which I attempted to extract from our waitress. However, she eyed our enormous camera suspiciously and told me I could not have the recipe! I'm not sure what she thought I was up to, but I managed to find out that onions and garlic are included in the hot sauce. She also admitted, under further questioning, that some vinegar might be involved. I found this appetizer to be surprisingly bland. The sauce helped a bit.
For our main courses, Mr. Balancing Act ordered the Pernil, which is a slightly spicy pork concoction served with white rice, black beans, and tostones. I had decided in advance on the Cuban sandwich. This lengthy amalgamation contains ham, swiss cheese, roast pork, dill pickle slices, and yellow mustard. Since the sandwich did not come with any sides, I also ordered the tostones. These are fried plaintain slices which are flattened and then fried again. My husband enjoyed his pork and side dishes immensely, scooping up every last morsel. I, on the other hand, found everything I had selected to be rather dry. The sandwich was mostly bread, and although nicely toasted, the fillings were skimpy. The tostones were crusty and crunchy, but pretty flavorless. Hot sauce, once again, provided some additional flavor and moisture.
All in all, with tax and tip, our meal came to about $50. I thought this was quite expensive for lunch. Especially for a place which is billed as a "Cheap Eats" in the Washington Post. I did use our LivingSocial deal for a discount, but even so, I did not walk away feeling like I had received a great bargain. If the meal had been stellar, I certainly would have felt that way.
But the place was packed. Practically every table was taken, and the customers seemed to be enjoying their meals. So maybe it was just me.
hocofood@@@
Even after looking at a map, programing the address into our GPS, AND studying photographs of the place, it was challenging to find Cuba de Ayer. Instead of facing the road, this storefront is at a 90 degree angle to the road so the sign is not very visible until you have turned into their narrow driveway. The front of the building looks slightly decrepit, with peeling blue and white paint, and the windows of the restaurant appeared dark, although it was open for business. But we heard lively Cuban music piped into the parking lot when we exited the car. That was encouraging.
As I mentioned, the entire menu is available online, prices included, which I think is a great feature as I am a control freak who likes to plan ahead. In detail. I already knew everything I was going to order before we walked through the door. Mr. Balancing Act, on the other hand, was a wild card.
Although you probably know I have a rule about never drinking my calories, the Cuban iced coffee convinced me to smash that rule to pieces. Mr. Balancing Act agreed, as he is a coffee fanatic as well. This concoction contained a double shot of Cuban espresso, sweetened condensed milk, whipped cream, and chocolate syrup. Oh, boy. Think coffee coolata Cuban-style. This was by far my favorite thing that we ordered. I only wished that at $4.95 the size could have been more generous. With less ice.
Along with our drinks, we ordered papas rellenos which is a deep-fried ball of mashed potato stuffed with ground beef. (See above photo.) Mr. Balancing Act and I split this single appetizer. It came with a house-made hot sauce in a bottle, the ingredients of which I attempted to extract from our waitress. However, she eyed our enormous camera suspiciously and told me I could not have the recipe! I'm not sure what she thought I was up to, but I managed to find out that onions and garlic are included in the hot sauce. She also admitted, under further questioning, that some vinegar might be involved. I found this appetizer to be surprisingly bland. The sauce helped a bit.
For our main courses, Mr. Balancing Act ordered the Pernil, which is a slightly spicy pork concoction served with white rice, black beans, and tostones. I had decided in advance on the Cuban sandwich. This lengthy amalgamation contains ham, swiss cheese, roast pork, dill pickle slices, and yellow mustard. Since the sandwich did not come with any sides, I also ordered the tostones. These are fried plaintain slices which are flattened and then fried again. My husband enjoyed his pork and side dishes immensely, scooping up every last morsel. I, on the other hand, found everything I had selected to be rather dry. The sandwich was mostly bread, and although nicely toasted, the fillings were skimpy. The tostones were crusty and crunchy, but pretty flavorless. Hot sauce, once again, provided some additional flavor and moisture.
All in all, with tax and tip, our meal came to about $50. I thought this was quite expensive for lunch. Especially for a place which is billed as a "Cheap Eats" in the Washington Post. I did use our LivingSocial deal for a discount, but even so, I did not walk away feeling like I had received a great bargain. If the meal had been stellar, I certainly would have felt that way.
But the place was packed. Practically every table was taken, and the customers seemed to be enjoying their meals. So maybe it was just me.
hocofood@@@
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