This edition of Excited about Eating takes us to Havana Café, serving authentic Cuban cuisine in West Jefferson, NC.

Located directly across from the Farmer’s Market

Located directly across from the Farmers Market, Havana Café serves most of the Cuban favors, including Picadillo, Arroz Con Pollo, and Ropa Vieja. Dora here. Perfect location, wouldn’t you say? After lunch, just walk on over and browse all the goodies. 🙂

Located directly across from the Farmer’s Market

Dora here. We’ve been meaning to get over to West Jefferson and try this place. (Seems to be a recurring theme, lol) This tiny restaurant was jammed for a Saturday lunch.

Tiny place was jammed for a Saturday lunch

For my lunch, I chose my favorite Cuban dish, Fried Pork chunks with Mojo sauce (a blend of oil and citrus, usually a bitter orange) and Moros (black beans and white rice cooked together). The pork chunks were crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. The Moros had just the right consistency, not too dry, not too moist. Brought me back to my days in Tampa. Definitely a repeat dish!

Pork Chunks with Moros and Plantains. Definitely a repeat!

Dora here. The Piccadillo (or Picadillo, I’ve seen it spelled both ways) was comfort food for this Florida transplant. Piccadillo is generally a tasty stew of ground beef, tomato sauce, a variety of spices and seasonings, olives and whatever else the chef wants to throw in the pot. Sometimes raisins are added for a touch of sweetness. This dish included potatoes and only a few olives, which I appreciated. Not over the top on the heat level by any means, just the right amount. The black beans were the only downfall for this dish. They definitely needed a boost of flavor.  

This Piccadillo was comfort food for this Florida transplant.

What was your favorite meal this week?

We rate this restaurant 4 forks out of 5 for a family friendly restaurant serving great food.