‘I feel closer to my roots’: Three Dallas Cuban-owned restaurants that remind fans of home
Try these extraordinary Cubanos and other dishes.
A dish of Ropa Vieja, shredded beef in a tomato sauce, with red, green peppers and onion, center, and a Cuban sandwich with sliced pork, ham and Swiss cheese, served with fries, from Caribbean Cuba restaurant in Carrollton(Ben Torres / Special Contributor)
It’s not about achieving a badge of authenticity. It’s more of an emotional thing for Ernesto Vélez, owner of the Havana Cafe in Casa Linda, to source the right cheese, the right bread, to slow-simmer the pork in the cauldron of sofrito. Cooking with the right ingredients not the ones you feel like you must cook with, but the ones that make you feel something is one way Vélez keeps his heart and soul connected to his home of Holguín, Cuba.