EDIT: As always, Conflict Kitchen continues update the menu for different countries. Rumor has it it’s currently Iranian, but likely won’t be for long.
With the advent of improved relations between the US and Cuba, Conflict Kitchen (which I wrote about back here) decided to switch from Palestinian food over to food representing that land mass 90 miles from Florida. They had done this once before, but they probably figured they wouldn’t have the opportunity again.
I opted for the Lechon Asado, which is a slow roasted pork marinated in mojo sauce. Unbeknownst to me it also came with some sort of terrible Cuban salad concoction. This wasn’t pleasing, but at least the Lechon Asado tasted delicious. Well, I should say it was delicious from where I was in Pittsburgh, a long way from Cuba. This is compared to Florida, where I had such flavorful Cuban food that I may be spoiled forever.
I also had some tostones which are smashed, fried savory plantains. They came with some mojo sauce for dipping, which was really tasty garlic sauce. For dessert I had myself a guava and cheese empanada. I only did this to see if it could come close to the guava and cheese strudel served up at Porto’s in LA. Sadly, it was covered in sugar, which totally masked what is typically a delicious mixture of already sweet guava and cheese.
So, while Conflict Kitchen didn’t fail me on its Cuban rendition, it also didn’t impress me as much as its Palestinian cuisine. But as relations normalize between our two countries, I can only hope Pittsburgh gets an influx of Cuban immigrants looking to provide some amazing food.
