Havana Grill

I love family rivalries... Especially, when it's a family food fight. Two of the same thing ain't a bad thing in my book or pouch.

So, who is the real deal here... Havana Restaurant or Havana Grill? It all depends on how you look at it... By blood or by marriage. I base it on who's beans can make me shit my pants first. To tell you the truth, they both tasted and soiled my underpants about the same. But here, they have a few more items like milkshakes, daily specials and pasteles. They also have more seating area.

Empanada - Dough reminded me of a bad American eggroll wrapper... All blistered up like some nasty athlete's foot. Roast pork filler was decent. But this just didn't do it for me... Mebbe if I had some Micatin.

Cubano - Good bread, pressed nicely, crispy yet soft. The meat filler was good as well but a little chintzy. It was properly constructed but it's not the best in ATL. With the limited Cubans available, beggars can't be choosers.

Ropa Vieja - Special of the day... I think they used old socks instead. It looked okay but it was devoid of any flavor. I used almost half a bottle of Mojo Criollo that it looked like I was beating my meat in the corner. Hmmm, that dirty old sock would come in handy right about now.

Yellow Rice - What did you just call me, jefe? Sounds racial. It's almost as bad as 'White Bread'...But this tasted a lot better. Fluffy and yellow... No, I'm not talking about myself. Nothing Earth shattering but it's decent filler. I'm a Twinkie, btw.

Black Beans - A big bowl of it... I needed a big bowl after it. Pretty solid with chopped onions in it. Dude, it's black beans. It ain't gonna make you piss gold... Mebbe black gold.

Pasteles De Guayaba - Filled with guava and cream cheese. Not too shabby but anything that has cream cheese in it always makes think of a bad sushi roll that sushi connoisseurs love.

The joint is clean and the owners/staff are super friendly and nice. Stick with the basics, the tried and true dishes are your best bet. It's nice to have another Cuban option closer to the city. Support local biz, yo.

BTW- One thing Cubans can't make in the south is sweet tea... It must be their teabags. I guess I can relate, I try to avoid dunking my teabag in any type of steeping liquid as well.

Splash.

3 Stars.

3373 Buford Hwy
Atlanta, GA 30329
(404) 633-4999