A taste of Cuba in Miami

In a modest suburban Miami neighborhood with palm-lined streets, Havana Miami dishes up down-home, traditional Cuban food. It's an old-school sort of place with white tablecloths and waiters wearing collared shirts and teal green cumberbunds and bow ties, looking as if they were dressed for an 80s high school prom. Colorful oil paintings depicting the Cuban revolution hang on the walls, and a giant tank filled with tropical fish sits in the center of the dining room.

The menu is staggering with six pages of fine print. About half of the dishes are random selections from around the world--Peruvian ceviche, chicken cordon bleu, Hawaiian ham steak. Ask your waiter to direct you to the Cuban fare: oxtail stew, green plantain soup, Cuban sandwiches.

We ordered the Vaca Frita, a flat pancake of crispy fried beef sprinkled with lime juice (above); and the Carne Asada, tender chunks of beef in a spicy tomato sauce. Each entree came with a side of buttery rice, mashed black beans, and sweet fried plantains. We heard that the flan is delicious but the portions were so generous that we skipped on dessert.