I loved Cuba! Except for the food of course...

I Loved Cuba! Except for the food, of course...

I don’t know how many times I’ve heard this from Resort Goers and had to keep from rolling my eyes. First of all, you spent 7 days laying around the resort and drinking. That sounds like a fabulous vacation (sign me up!) but you can’t say you ‘loved Cuba’. You didn’t experience Cuba. Not really. Or you did, but it was a very sheltered view entirely manufactured by the resort and whatever (probably Gaviota) excursions you participated in. If you were lucky enough to do an excursion into Havana then maybe you tasted the cuisine in the city and were able to alter your view and realize that the bland resort food is not actually an accurate representation of Cuban cuisine.
   Trust me, I’ve had my share of Cuban resort food. Part of my job is staying at resorts, so I can attest to the fact that it’s not always five star food. Granted, I’ve never understood people that stay at a three star resort and expect five star quality. And plenty of those people are my chief complainers. Here’s the thing you have to remember about Cuba; most of the time, they are not able to have access to the foods and seasonings that we’re used to back home. And that’s no fault of the country or resort. It’s just something that you have to keep in mind. As well, often times they make their food blander to appeal to the widest variety of guests. Not everyone can handle spice. As for the cold food, well I can’t really defend that. Probably just a rush trying to get that amount of food out.

    One thing that I often do on my trips back home is to stock up on spices and flavorings that are not readily available here. My one big staple is garlic salt; I really hate peeling and chopping garlic. I also stock up on snacks. I’ll admit that Cuban snacks are not my favorite. There are so many things in powder form now that it makes packing them for travel much easier. Some things that I brought in powdered form on my last run are: peanut butter, siracha, ranch dressing, gravy, taco seasonings, garlic salt and pad thai sauce.
 You can still find many seasonings yourself at one of Havana’s many vegetable markets.

   So one thing that I often do here is cook for myself. Living here can be expensive and eating out every day just isn’t feasible. When I do go out to eat I can tell you with absolute certainty that the food is GREAT. You can ask my taste buds if you need a reference. Here I’ll list my favorite restaurants so that I can give you a bit of an inside scoop.

D’Next: This is one of my favorite restaurants. It’s got kind of a sports pub vibe and it’s very modern looking inside. The food selection is huge and very tasty. My favorite thing to get here is the Pizza D’next with pineapple and mushroom along with onion rings. It’s one of the only places I’ve found that serve onion rings.

Oh Habana: This is a cheaper restaurant that serves a wide variety of food similar to D’next but slightly cheaper. They also have amazing shrimp for an incredibly reasonable price.

El Almendron: This is a tiny restaurant on Obispo with live music and now even features free wifi! It’s also the only place to get amazing veggie burgers! (I’m a vegetarian, FYI)

El Del Frente: This is a pretty well-known restaurant with rich flavors and a more expensive menu. The drinks are delicious and the food is incredibly flavorful.

Please, before you judge Cuba by the resort food or by what others say go experience the food in the city. Some of the best food can be found in tiny places off the beaten path. The Cuban staple, rice and beans, are plentiful and depending on the place, rich with flavor. So give it a shot, visit the real Cuba and experience their cuisine. In a later post I’ll talk about the adventure that is grocery shopping in Cuba. But for now, go grab a taste of the island!

Besos, Leah