Little Havana Restaurant Serves Up Traditional Favorites
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) - CBS4's Jim Berry and Lisa Petrillo were doing some salsa dancing in their seats at Little Havana Restaurant in North Miami.
It was Jim's pick for their "Taste of the Town" lunch, it's a spot he frequents regularly.
"It's one of my favorite spots to have a nice comfortable and casual meal. It's friendly, warm, affordable and it's consistently good," Berry told Petrillo.
Jorge Alvarez's father opened this hidden gem, located off Biscayne Boulevard and 127th Street, nearly 25 years ago. They opened a second restaurant in Deerfield Beach a few years later.
Alvarez says the authenticity of the place in its look, and of course its food, has kept their restaurant going strong through the years.
"We have all the traditional favorites like ground beef, shredded beef, roast pork, pork chunks and I think one of the main reasons why we been here so long is the consistency, it's why we've been here so long," Alvarez said
The prices work well too. Many lunch specials run from $5.99 to $9.00.
"I know value when I see it," Berry said.
They began with a sharing platter called Taste of Havana. It had pork, chicken, plantain chips, croquettas and fried yuca.
"Ladies and gentlemen that is another Miami Dolphins first down," Berry yelled out, enjoying he food.
"This is what happens when you go to lunch with a sportscaster," joked Petrillo.
Next was Berry's favorite the picadillo (or ground beef) which was served with black beans and rice.
"It just has all the right flavors and it's also really tender and there's not a lot of chew to it," said Petrillo.
"It's delicious, it's subtle, it's understated, it's elegant and it's filling," said Berry.
Next was a classic Cuban dish - seafood paella with shrimp, scallops, mussels and clams on yellow rice.
"The yellow rice has the right amount if stickiness to it. The mussels are super fresh, que rico," said Petrillo.
The meal ended with a flaming flan for Petrillo and a tres leches for Berry.
Little Havana - a terrific taste from a familiar place, right in our own backyard.
Little Havana is open 7 days a week for lunch and dinner, for more info littlehavanarestaurant.com.
CBS4's Lisa Petrillo would love to hear from you. Please send us a suggestion for your #HiddenGems spot at tasteofthetown@cbs.com. You can also contact Lisa through Twitter or Facebook.
