viva la havana!!!

mmm Cuban food. I have never had Cuban food before, but I did do a bit of research on Wikipedia before heading out to Versailles with Jill and Omid. While the restaurant shares its name with the grand French palace, it doesn't fall short of the name on taste. The little restaurant had a rustic/traditional feel to it...it was decorate with a red motif(...communism??) and had a strong ethnic flavor.

SPEAKING of flavor!! i thought it was delicious!

Versailles offers many traditional Cuban dishes including the "Moors and Christians" black beans and rice, beef stews, and uses authentic spices. After perusing the menu several times, I debated between the roasted shredded pork dish and the house-specialty chicken dish. I eventually settles on the shredded pork which I was completely satisfied with. But, I will definitely return to sample the other offerings on the menu. Not only were the flavors rich, but the portions were HUGE! And it all came with some fried plantains and black beans



This is the dish that I ordered is called Lechon Asado which is a Classic Cuban-style Roasted shredded pork that was marinated in Versailles' garlic mojo criollo sauce. It had a tangy, yet sweet and smoky flavor that went well with the sweetness of the white onions and rice.

Jill ordered an oxtail stew(Rabo Encendido), which was really tender and seasoned really well. The combination of spices included some sorts of pepper but it wasn't hot spicy. It definitely had strong Hispanic flavors to it, but my palate is for sure not broad enough to differentiate what those ingredients were. It really made for a hearty meal that's for sure! I personally really like oxtail stew, especially my mom's which is braised in red wine, sweet soy sauce, olive oil, and star anise. Mmm look at those huge bones. don't you just want to suck on them?!?!?

Omid stuck with his usual, Lomo Salteado which is kind of like beef stew. It was chunks of bite-size rib-eye steak simmered in a tomato-based sauce with onions and bell peppers with fried potatoes on the bottom. I think it's very similar to the Puerto Rican beef dish that I had with Jessica but this dish was a bit more hearty. I liked the texture of the beef: it was really tender and slightly chewy. The tomato-base sauce also had the undertones as the oxtail stew (which are probably base spices used in Cuban cuisine). I only had a bite, but it was really rich and delicious :D

MMMMM and the fried plantains were yummy :D they were like soft, firm, banana chips. And then afterwards, Jill and I saw a production of High School Musical done by several of her students. It was a great fete considering that all of the performers have Autism or Aspergers!