by erin thursby scopes1925@msn.com
The spirit of Cuba lingers in the air and the décor of the Havana-Jax Cafe. Restaurant walls are warmly colored, with black and white photos of old Cuba bringing to mind a warm breeze and good times. Hung all around the restaurant are the wind chimes you can find outside of most Cuban homes and many businesses. The restaurant is unique in Jacksonville; while we have many Hispanic restaurants that serve Cuban food, Havana- Jax is the only one that specializes in purely Cuban cuisine.
Owner Silvia Pulido has been running Havana-Jax for over ten years and feels the restaurant is really hitting its stride. “I don’t think Jacksonville was prepared for us when we started,” Pulido commented. “People didn’t know what Cuban food was, but Jacksonville’s getting more cosmopolitan.” Word of the outstanding food at Havana-Jax has spread further than just the Jacksonville area, bringing customers from all over the state and from Georgia.
The restaurant and the oh-so-hot attached bar, named Cuba Libre, give customers plenty of room to socialize. This full bar’s signature drinks are a Mojito and the Cuba Libre (a rum and coke with a twist of lime). On Fridays and weekends people tend to enjoy dinner and then move on to the bar for dancing and entertainment. The bar was added about two and a half years ago and features quite a collection of art by artist Raul Marin.
Drink selection features sangria and an interesting array of wines from many Spanish speaking countries. Non-alcoholic selections include sodas popular in Cuba as well as the standard selections available in most restaurants. Coffee selections include beans from Costa Rica, Columbia, Nicaragua as well as genuine Cuban coffee.
If you’re looking to come in for lunch, the Cuban sandwich is the most genuine Cuban you can find in Jacksonville. Lunch brings in quite a crowd because of the reasonable sandwich prices and the filling, delicious fare.
We started with the Havana-Jax Platter, which is a sampling of many of the appetizers offered. The platter is accompanied by incredible black beans that have an enjoyable, distantly spicy flavor. By no means should you rush through this normally pedestrian side dish. I found myself cocking my head, trying to discern specific spices in the delightfully elusive chorus of flavor. I hadn’t had black beans like this since I left Miami. The source of the flavor was the restaurant’s own sofrito, used to flavor many of the dishes. Sofrito is mix of spices, herbs and veggies finely chopped and made into a kind of paste. There are many variations on sofrito; the basic sofrito used here includes a Cuban seasoning, onion, peppers, garlic and olive oil. The hearty tamal cornbread was also among my favorites on the appetizer platter. Since I found the chicharrones (bite size fried pork) to be the perfect accompaniment to the tamal, I recommend ordering the tamal con chicharrones as an appetizer. The food at Havana-Jax is not only incredibly authentic and tasty, using the freshest ingredients, but also consistent. The main kitchen staff has stayed the same almost since the restaurant opened
The entrées I sampled were the arroz con pollo and the ropa vieja, both classically Cuban fare. Arroz con pollo comes in many different variations in different Spanish-speaking countries and the Caribbean. The yellow rice is infused with flavor of the sofrito and the chicken. Once the chicken is cooked over the stove with the sofrito, the rice is added to the chicken and allowed to simmer in the fresh chicken stock. Once the rice is cooked the entire dish goes into the oven to dry the mixture out a little. My husband’s dish, which I savored when he gave me a taste, was the ropa vieja. Richly flavored with a Spanish sauce, garlic, onion, bell pepper, bay leaves and tomatoes, the ropa vieja fairly drips with lush and savory flavor. This shredded beef flank steak comes with a side of the brilliant yellow rice and black beans.
I couldn’t resist trying the tres leches for dessert, a favorite which customers often order because it’s difficult to get outside of a Hispanic specialty restaurant. The tres leches is a small cake saturated in three kinds of sweetened milk or cream. The Havana-Jax tres leches is especially sweet and would be heavenly with the authentic Cuban coffee served here. According to owner Silvia Pulido, coffee beans “come fresh every week, and we grind the beans every time we make a pot.” From first bite to dessert, Havana-Jax’s commitment to fresh and authentic cuisine has made me a devotee.
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