Taste Of The Town: Cuban Influenced Food With Local Feel At Little Havana's Café La Trova

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MIAMI (CBSMiami) – It's all things Latino with star chef Michelle Bernstein at her newest venture, Café La Trova in the growing foodie scene of Little Havana.

"This is funny, I don't sit down and eat my own food. In fact, I starve myself when I'm here," said Bernstein.

"Let me tell you, you should because you cook really well," said CBS4's Lisa Petrillo after tasting one of Bernstein's plates.

Café La Trova is the brainchild of master bartender, or cantinero, Julio Cabrera, who grew up in Cuba watching his father's bar business grow.

Julio has worked with Bernstein and her husband David Martinez for 15 years.

The idea was to celebrate the art of Cantinero style bartending with delicious Cuban influenced food.

He prepared his signature La Chancletta cocktail served on a sandal.

"To me, this is a love song. This is a love song not only to his father but to Cuba and the Cuban people. And I'm just a part of that. I'm one of those verses," Bernstein said.

"The look and feel of the place is warm and casual. A throwback and an homage to a time and a place. The old truck near the stage is a deejay booth. We have live music Thursday through Friday. We always have Cuban groups here," she explained.

"This is where you come you have a great cocktail, you listen to great music and you have great food."

And the food? Bernstein combines her Argentinian roots with a nod towards classic Cuban dishes— her way.

"It's about surrounding yourself with people you love and mostly remembering how hard they've worked for everything they have, combined with how I grew up and how my mother put all the love in her food," she said.

She sets a table filled with that love. Petrillo and Bernstein begin with Queso Frito or fried cheese. Hers is topped with stewed tomatoes and rum.

"You taste the rum in there? It's kind of fun right?" Bernstein asked Petrillo.

"Yes! I also like the salt from the cheese. It's savory and sweet," said Petrillo.

Handmade empanadas fill plates. One stuffed with squash and cheese, another with hand cut beef with sautéed peppers and chicken and cheese.

"I mean there are empanadas and there are empanadas. You can see you are doing something special here with them," said Petrillo.

Croquettes rule as well. Petrillo goes for the one with spinach stuffed with gruyere fontina and feta cheese.

"I could eat this for breakfast. It's delicious. I feel it's kind of good for you, with the spinach," she said laughing.

Cafe La Trova where traditional and modern Cuban cultures are both celebrated under one roof.

It's open 7 days a week from pastiltos and coffee in the morning to dinner at night. For more information, click here.