This week I had a business trip in Miami and when in Miami you need to try the food they are famous for and that is Cuban. It is always tough finding a great restaurant without a lot of help but sometimes you luck out. I chose
De Rodriguez Cuba which is in the Hilton Hotel on South Beach. This is a Chef Douglas Rodriquez restaurant who has won several awards as the premier Chef for Nuevo Latino Cuisine.
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| Sugar Cane Tuna |
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| Appetizers |
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| Paella |
The interior of the restaurant is no frills modern but the outdoor seating area backs out to the beach and a lit pool area. It was a nice warm evening with a nice breeze perfect for sitting outside aqnd enjoying a great meal. Their menu is very compact so the choices are easy. One thing the featured but we did not have was the Ceviche, they had several intersting types including Conch. I started out with several appetizers including the Fig and Foie Gras Empanadas, Pan Con Bistec and the Chicken Empanadas. The star of the apps were the Foie Gras Empanadas not only for the empanada which was a sweet tasty treat but also for the prosciutto and micro green salad with nut crusted dry fig pieces. It was delicious!! The Second Star was the Pan Con Bistec which was short rib meat wrapped in filo shaped rectangular. Along with the appetizers they had brought fried plantain chips and these little buns with a sweet creamy dough inside very yummy. On with the entrees, Rick and I had the Pork Belly which was massive and delicious. the Belly was a slab of salty and tart meat with a thick layer of crusty fat. There was just too much and I could not finish it, I had just heard from my Dr that my Cholesterol was perfect, my guess that it is not any more. Robert being the sensible one ordered the best dish, the Sugar Cane Tuna which was a perfectly grilled Ahi Tuna the outside had this great sweet crust. MJ Ordered the Paella definitely the most colorful dish with some great explosive sweet seafood tastes, the greeat thing about the Paella was the assortment of the seafood and shell fish.
De Rodriguez Cuba has some great food, the service was pretty good and the portions were not skimpy. This is the type of place that you could definitely do appetizers without the entrees or just do the entrees alone and share them family style. One thing to note in Miami the service charge of 18% is included at many of the dining places.