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Rincon de la calidad-the new Cuban place


Mainecoons

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Please pardon if the name of the restaurant is not quite right, they don't have a sign yet.

Four of us ate there last night after a warm up at the Tequila Republic. We all had the pork & black beans/rice plates. It included a salad and some type of fruit fritter. All was very good to excellent, the black beans and rice are the real deal. The salad was properly chilled and crisp. Servings were very generous.

The restaurant appears very clean, there's even a hand wash station in the corner of the main floor. The restroom was spotless.

The owner/chef is actually Cuban, by way of Miami.

Our bill with tip came to $350 pesos for three drinks (two a very good rum drink), two entres and a shared desert of very delicious and properly cold flan. Service was attentive and properly done.

The location off the Libremiento is not the best, a little noisy though far less than a similar location on the Carretera. It is across from and just slightly up hill from the Pemex, on the west side of the road. Look for the red awning out front.

Note: Not open on Monday or Tuesday.

Recommended!

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On weekends only, in addition to the wonderful pork, they also offer seafood. Their ceviche tosatada is great, as were the fish specials we've tried. He hopes to expand out back with a garden area, so that may help mitigate the noise from the libremiento.

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This post is being made by The Dawg, not Brigitte Ordoquy. My apologies for posting inadvertently under her name but I don´t want to retype this.

This place (Lechon) is OK but not great by any means but, then, Cuban food in general is a bit on the bland side. I think they do a superb job of roasting the pig so what I think I might do the next time is take some of this outstanding roast pig and spice it up at home Alabama/African/American style. This pig would make great southern U.S. BBQ and great pork is difficult to find around here. Fine and friendly folks run this place and I highly recommend the reader try it but the meals we had consisting of roast pig, rice and beans and fried plantain were, while uninspired, typical of Cuban cuisine that I have had in Miami although I have not been to the island so what do I know?

There is one thing, however, that could certainly be greatly improved with a little elbow grease. The mojito was sub-par even though it was spiced with fresh mint from the cafe garden. When I complained of this disappointment to the waiter he stated that he understood and the cafe did, indeed, know how to prepare a proper mojito. We shall see the next time I return. Frankly, I doubt most people at Lake Chapala have ever tasted a truly great mojito.

In the meantime, here is a recipe for what The Dawg considers the perfect acoholic drink especially during this hot spring season:

TRUE MOJITO

Sugar

Mint

White Rum

Peñafiel Sparkling Water

Lime

Ice

Take a large glass and pour white cane sugar on the bottom adding fresh mint and unsqueezed halved limes - peel and all.

Blend these ingredients together by vigoroulsy mashing them with some heavy implement or a pestle to release the oils of the mint and lime peel.

Add a quality white rum to taste but preferably quite a bit (not the finest aged dark rum such as Havana Club which should be sipped neat in a snifter as one would a fine cognac).

Top this off with ice and Peñafiel Sparkling Water

After a couple of these you will find that you can actually talk to Hemingway and ask him why he blew his head off with a shotgun in Idaho (or whereever) but I swear that, while he always responds congenially, you will never remember the answer.

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Bland? Maybe we didn't eat at the same place. I also am a repeat customer at the Cuban place across from Pemex and usually have a torta with a variety of lovely spicy salsas. The food I have had as been anything but bland, with rich flavors and subtle seasonings.

I haven't eaten "real" Cuban food either, but for what is is worth, this is better than Cuba Cuba, a popular restaurant in Denver

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