There is a special place in my heart for Cuban Fritas, pronounced free-tah. It is a small, thin burger, fried to perfection with a hint of spice, but not spicy, topped with onions, ketchup and fried potatoes. The first time I had one, I recall our parents taking my brother andContinue Reading

National Garlic Day

There’s a national day of celebration for just about every day of the calendar. According to the National Day Calendar website(yes, it exists) today is not only National Amaretto day but also #NationalGarlicDay. There are over 300 smelly varieties of this relative of onions, leeks, and shallots. While the superstitiousContinue Reading

Cuban Ropa Vieja

Ropa vieja translates to “old clothes”. It gets the name from the beef having the appearance of tattered clothes and while it may sound far from appetizing to refer to a savory dish as old, tattered clothing, this dish is anything but! It is exquisitely simple in terms of ingredientsContinue Reading

Funny name, spectacular flavor. I pretty much only knew Cuban or Mexican food growing up and I stupidly just assumed for the longest time that all latinos ate the same food. And we do, but not entirely. Guasacaca sauce is a Venezuelan avocado based sauce that I learned of aboutContinue Reading

Guess who didn’t like black beans growing up? Yup, ME!  “You call yourself a Cuban?” “What do you mean you don’t like black beans?” “What kind of Cuban doesn’t like black beans?” This went on at every family gathering, at all my friends’ houses. Party after party, restaurant after restaurant,Continue Reading