A Little Taste of Cuba

Last night I joined my friends Marcello, Elena and Nick for a little taste of Cuba right here on Long Island. Rincon Criollo, in Huntington Station, offers a wide variety of traditional Cuban fare. This location is a second post for the long celebrated Queens favorite. Since their opening this past July, I've repeatedly heard rave reviews and finally got the chance to experience it for myself.

Despite my afternoon spent scoping out the menu online, I still felt completely undecided once I sat down at the table. Clearly, a sweet and refreshing mojito was necessary to help me decide. Beware, these babies go down like juice, but can run you more than your meal. Our merriment came to an abrupt halt once the bill arrived and we realized they were $12 a pop. Whoops.

We shared the Rincon Criollo Appetizer- a Cuban antipasti consisting of juicy pulled pork, chorizo, stuffed green olives, and ham and swiss cheese. The plate looks small, but the rich meat is more than enough for four people.

When it came time to order, I was still stuck. I asked the waiter to help me decide. The Ropa Vieja is one of the resturant's most popular dishes, and was thankfully one of my top three choices! The tender braised beef pulled in tomato sauce paired perfectly with classic white rice and black beans.

For dessert, I had to have the tres leches. The cake itself was a little dry for my taste, but had great flavor.

This complimentary buttery and chocolatey dessert liquor went down like a charm- creme de cacao with evaporated milk.

The food was ridiculously good. Service could have been better- there was one waiter for the whole place and he was a bit overwhelmed. One of my tostones and my friend's dessert were both forgotten. Regardless, we loved it and I will most definitely be back :)