Cuba Libre, Philadelphia

Cuba Libre
10 S 2nd Street
Philadelphia, PA 19106
215-627-0666
www.cubalibrerestaurant.com
(also in Atlantic City)

Excellent Cuban food, not particularly 'nuevo' latino.
Had Plantain Soup "Cayo Hueso" which had good chicken broth flavor, and was accompanied by a pair of rum-grilled shirmp and a pair of conch fritters, both skewered on sugar cane.

I wasn't especially hungry (after an oversized steak at the Palm last night) and had Boniato Relleno appetizer as my entree. Three fritters of I think manioc, filled with beef picadillo with a 'sweet and spicy guajillo pepper sauce' and crispy onions. Excellent.

My dinner companions had ropa vieja (outstanding), Camarones Enchilados (sort of a shrimp creole, or rather criollo), and the special of the night which was plaintain-crusted chicken breast with mussel paella on the side.

Mojitos and Presidente accompanied a wonderful meal.

I really preferred Alma de Cuba over Cuba Libre when I went about 3 years ago. Cuba Libre struck me more as a LEYE-like restaurant where the focus was on recreating a Havana street scene rather than the food. Sounds like you had a better experience; I sure don't remember those things being on the menu. I do know people who have been recently, and recommend Alma de Cuba and Passion while in fishing in Philly for Nuevo Latino. Add this cuisine to the list of those missing in Chicago.

"Add this cuisine to the list of those missing in Chicago."

Have you tried:

Mas
Nacional 27
Coobah
Rumba
SushiSamba
Cafe 28

I'm not a big fan of "Nuevo Cubano" anywhere, form Yuca in Miami (perhaps the original) to the Philly places, all of which I've tried. I'll take our high-end Mexican any day. The latter cuisine lends itself more toward complex and subtle treatments. In Cuba "fancy food" equals Spanish food, almost by definition. I admire the idea of trying to create something new, but it strikes me that the most succesful dishes at these high-end Cuban places are the humble fare of the abuelita's house and the steam table cafeteria. Ropa vieja, camarones enchilao/enchilado, and boniato relleno (boniato is a Cuban "sweet potato", manioc=yuca=cassava=tapioca) are all things one might find on hand at Pipo's Cafeteria in Tampa, La Carreta in the Miami Airport, or the Ambassador on Ashland.

I appreciate that quality of ingredient and technique might elevate some of these dishes (maybe live scampi for the camarones, eg); moreover added "authenticity" might justify a higher price (perhaps tasajo de caballo in the ropa vieja, or true Cuban bread and coffee), but count me out if the only real difference is a soundtrack and a sauce for the frituras applied by squirt bottle.

I have tried 4 of the restaurants on the list, and no, I would not describe any of those as even remotely touching the likes of Douglas Rodriguez. And I also take issue with your characterization of the difference being a soundtrack and a squirt bottle, but if your standard is the above list of restaurants, I can see where you get that idea.

I also really like our high-end Mexican, and am especially a fan of Geno Bahena's creations. But we just don't have a Caribbean equivalent here. Having tried many nuevo latino restaurants in New York, Philly, and South Florida, I can attest to the chow potential of this cuisine, beyond the heat lamps and steamed trays of the cafeteria line.

JeffB wrote:I appreciate that quality of ingredient and technique might elevate some of these dishes (maybe live scampi for the camarones, eg); moreover added "authenticity" might justify a higher price (perhaps tasajo de caballo in the ropa vieja, or true Cuban bread and coffee), but count me out if the only real difference is a soundtrack and a sauce for the frituras applied by squirt bottle.

I didn't find the place particularly LEYE-like: the theme seemed more subtle -- no soundtrack, no evidence of squirt bottles on the dishes we had, although I'd bet on it for dessert of which we had none.

You're right, the menu said 'sweet potato' but it didn't taste like what we call a sweet potato on Thanksgiving. Perhaps just a type of potato that's sweet?

Value-wise, the prices were not cheap (18+ for entrees), but there was a lot of food (the Ropa Vieja and a starter or two could have fed the table), and it was very good. I liked the ambiance: island courtyard, worn-looking rather than glitz, lots of live plants. I spoke with someone today who was at Morimoto last night (too high for my expense account), and she was also recommended to try Alma de Cuba, so maybe next time.

I think if it's not raining tonight, it might be a good time to wander down South street and just follow my nose into something cheap.

Harsh. The list was a list of "Nuevo Latino" restaurants, no less, no more, in response to your comment suggesting an absence of such places here.

I think I appreciate Nuevo Latino and Rodriguez's cooking, having first dined at Yuca in 1990, shortly after he "invented" the genre at that restaurant. I still remember the meal: ropa vieja pushed into a timbale, baked ribs glazed with guava paste, and a very ordinary flan presented on an extraordinary plate. Today, the menu at Alma de Cuba is anchored by dishes such as vaca frita and lechon asado.

Having had my own fairly extensive experience with "Carribean" food at every level both before and since, it is my humble opinion that much but by no means all of Nuevo Latino was, and is, smoke and mirrors especially fit for Miami. However, I do not believe that I foreclosed the possibility of any good Nuevo Latino. To the contrary.

Joel, I wasn't really directing my critique of Nuevo Latino to Cuba Libre, which you noted does not so sell itself.

BTW, here's a recent string on Philly:

http://lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t= ... ght=philly

Great food town, it is, especially around the edges.

JeffB wrote:Great food town, it is, especially around the edges.

I'll buy that: near South and Front it's no problem getting a great, cheap meal within walking distance; there's a great belgian place in the NW part of downtown, but at the convention center area, it's all Hard Rock, hotel restos, great big steaks from a chain establishment, etc.

Not that I'm knocking the steaks from the Palm in the Belleville, I'm just glad I didn't pay for that meal.

There also is a Belgian bar on South with several Belgian ales on tap. Can't recall the name. I very much recommend the nearby pizza place mentioned in the string I linked above. A nice two buck meal.

JeffB wrote: having first dined at Yuca in 1990,
<snip>
baked ribs glazed with guava paste,

Jeff,

Yuca's guava ribs are fantastic, though the first time I was at Yuca, BBQ snob that I am I did not order them because they were baked. Just as we were about to leave the guava ribs were served to the next table, oh-my, the fruity, porky goodness, both visual and olfactory, was almost too much to take.

It was over a year before I had a chance to try the guava ribs at Yuca, in the interim I managed to acquire the recipe, which I have also adapted for the smoker. If you, or anyone else for that matter, would like the recipe feel free to email gwiv@lthforum.com

Enjoy,
Gary

Gary, are you saying that you enjoyed oven baked ribs? As I 've stated, there is a place for them on my plate for sure, especially if they come from Biasetti's. I liked them at Yuca, don't get me wrong, but at the time little about the food seemed that new to me, including the use of fruit paste in a meat recipe. Looking back, I agree with me.

Seriously, though, guava paste is indeed a nice addition to the sweet, North Side version of ribs. As you probably know, though, once you have used guava paste in a recipe, don't expect to ever get that pan completely clean. Stands in nicely for prunes in short rib or ox tail recipes too. As an added bonus, I believe that guava paste has a half life of ten thousand years.