Cuba, Kinda

Little Havana
3520 Greenville Ave.
Dallas, TX 75206
Phone: 214-370-0400


My friend Tara and I are both grad students which means dining out is mostly inspired by low cost. Friday evening, a 25% off coupon to Little Havana sets the course.

Greenville Avenue hasnt been my haunt in Dallas, its nice but its crazy-busy on weekends and parking is murderous, even valet lines can stack up for a long, long wait. Plus the few times I've been it seems inundated with drunk, surly SMU students -- not at all the people with whom I want to spend my minimal free time.

But tonight, even with wicked storms, I looked forward to the outing. Next week is finals and term paper wrapup so this is the last night out for a week.

Tara brought her friend Paul (both to the right and below with yours truly). Yes, I felt like the old guy out with the young'uns. We did have a great night though, I can still keep up them, well, until midnight, then I'm out. LOL

I liked Little Havana. Over half of the restaurant/bar area is outdoor, tropical colors, purposely mismatched tables and chairs, very casually dressed servers. It has a very easy Gulf Coast beach-front atmoshere. Defintely a place to feel comfortable in your shorts and flips.

First up, the Mojitos. No. Ick. Bleck. Yak. Eww. Gross. I know I am presdisposed to not liking sweet things but the Mojitos were way too sweet; I couldn't detect lime, rum or mint. You would think that a Cuban restaurant would be good at the national drink of Cuba, yes?

Next up, the Magaritas. Good, very good. These make up for the Mojitos and my thanks to Paul and Tara for switching to those while I was away from the table. Raspberry version was very good and Melon version was equally as tasty - refreshing and a balanced blend of flavors.

The menu is mostly casual and very affordable: $5-15. There are some authentic Cuban items on the menu much like there are some authentic Thai items at Mango, there is also quite a bit of fusion. This is fine with me. I've had authentic Cuban fare in dives in and around Miami. Its great food but its heavy food; pork, potatoes, plantains, black beans. The menu is relatively small and broken into tapas (small plates), sandwiches, salads and entrees (only 4-5).

We tried tapas: Calamari, Crab & Conch Fritters w/ Spicy Aoli, Chorizo Empanadas with Chimichuri Sauce, Crochettes. I thought all were good but the Fritters were my personal favorite: crunchy lighted seasoned crust, chewy on the inside, large morsels of both crab and conch, dee-licious spicy aoli to top. I liked the Empanadas too but Tara thought the Chimichuri sauce was vinegar overload (which is what I liked about it).

I tried the Jerk Fried Chicken Salad for dinner. You need to keep your hands away from my damn plate when I'm eating this or I'll fork them, lol. Great combination of jerk spiced chicken, chorizo, lettuce, mango, tomato all with a mango vinagrette dressing. Perfect size too, just enough to feel satisfied without feeling like you need to be harpooned.



Tara tried the Stuffed Avocado Salad which she seemed to enjoy. Shrimp and crab stuffed and resting on a beautiful mixed salad base with the same mango vinagrette. I did notice that the avocado seemed to be missing, or maybe it was just lost underneath the shrimp and crab.

Paul had the Cuban Scampi. A nice sizzling plate with tail-on garlic sauteed shrimp piled in the middle, black beans to one side, rice to the other. The smell from Paul's side of he table had a gravitational pull, I will try his dish next time. I heard no complaints and he did smile quite a bit.

Service is excellent -- personable and efficient but not intrusive. Our waiter even circled the table until I was finished telling a story before he approached. Very good.

There is a live band playing great latin music, some campy 1950's Ricky Ricardo style, others more popular. Whatever was playing seemed to draw a crowd of young ladies with strappy tank tops and tight low rise jeans who seemed intent on dancing in the ailses.

People are having fun at Little Havana.