Tam and I went to Taste Of Havana for lunch yesterday -- Cuban sandwiches, of course, and once you've had the real thing, you'll snicker at the various amateur efforts. They were outstanding! The owner is a pleasant, avuncular fellow, larger than life, and his family/staff were just as nice. Alas, no time for coffee but we'll be back. At 2:00 p.m. on a work day, they were so busy that Tam peeled off to grab a table and had me order, otherwise we wouldn't have had a table.
That evening, I went to visit Mom X and my siblings. It was Mom's birthday and we had (ice cream) cake (I about froze my teeth!) and presents, small things and flowers suitable for the hospital-type room she's still in. Her aides had outdone us, giving her new pajamas and an easy-on outfit for visits to the doctor; they'd gotten size information from my brother and cleared it with us in advance. It was a nice visit and Mom is doing better and better with every passing day. She's hoping to get back to her apartment elsewhere in the retirement complex before too long.
Great to hear that she is doing much better. Happy Birthday Mom X, and best wishes to the rest of the family.
ReplyDeleteRaz
The real test of a Cuban restaurant is if they have Matuk's Island sauce. (HOT HOT HOT!)
ReplyDeleteThat and a decent roast-pork Cuban. (Don't be taken in by the ham-version found in Tampa! Demand the real thing.)
Glad Mom X is on the mend.
Good news all around. And Happy Birthday to Mom X.
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday to Mom X!
ReplyDeletegfa
Good to hear.
ReplyDeleteA minor amount of internettin' shows that the Cuban Sandwich was a Tampa tradition 50 years before there was a Little Havana in Miami. Those cigars didn't roll themselves.
ReplyDeleteMojo roasted pork, ham and yes, salami on a Cuban roll, which was really an Italian roll from the Italo-Cuban Spanish neighborhood of Ybor City; which explains the bread, salami and panini press.
I had my first one in central Florida 1976 and it left an indelible imprint.