Elena's Cuban Cafe a Latin-American Treat
10/01/2009 - By Lenore Devore CINDY SKOP | The Ledger
Elena's Cuban Cafe
Elena's Cuban Café has become so popular it's moving to a bigger location.
Owner Maritza Rodriguez, who took over the business in 2004, will be moving Elena's in February to the location of the former Wine & Roses on Edgewood Drive in Lakeland.
If the success she's had on Robin Road is any indication, she'll do just fine.
Elena's menu is limited, and the chicken and yellow rice was sold out before I arrived on two occasions, proving how popular that dish is. But it has many qualities that place it on my "must try" list.
Pork is not generally a meat I eat a lot of, preferring the other white meat. But that changed when I tried the breaded pork loin steak ($9.48), two large slabs of lightly breaded and fried pork that oozed with flavor. Light and tender, it ranked right up there with the best cuts of meat you'll find.
After a few bites of that I moved to the other white meat, Chicken Fricasse with Potatoes ($9.48) - a special on Wednesdays. Meat fell off two chicken thighs that were stewed in a tomato sauce, a moist concoction that made the taste buds come alive. A single small potato wedge was placed nearby on the plate, next to a large serving of rice and black beans that comes with every entrée.
The Monday special, which I made a special trip for, was picadillo ($9.48), a Latin American dish usually consisting of ground beef, tomato sauce, diced vegetables and spices. Cubans add green olives for a special touch that adds a bit more zip.
This picadillo was good, but not great, mostly because it tended to the very dry side.
Elena's Cuban sandwich ($4.99), a house specialty, was nothing out of the ordinary, which was a bit disappointing. The ham, pork, cheese and condiments did not fill the fresh Cuban bread, and nothing set the blend apart from other restaurants and groceries that sell Cubans.
For an appetizer, you can't go wrong with a beef empanada ($1.39), crumbled beef (often the same as picadillo beef) in baked dough.
You can also order fried plantains ($1.99) as an appetizer, but that sweet delight also comes as a side-dish option with every meal, so hold off and try the delicious garbanzo bean soup ($2.29) instead. The only knock here is Elena's doesn't sell a larger size.
Plump garbanzo beans fill the bowl, a creamy broth barely seen. If you prefer more beans than broth, you will love this Spanish bean soup.
One appetizer that didn't work at all for my guest and me: deviled crab ($1.99). It was described as a crab cake, but it was anything but. It may work for people who are used to it, but next time I'll stay away from anything deviled - unless it's an egg.
For something sweet, don't pass up the flan ($2.99). Creamier and lighter than most, it's a moundful of custard with the most incredible caramel flavor.
Like the chicken and yellow rice, rice pudding was sold out. That forced me to try the guava and cream cheese pastry (90 cents). Although there wasn't enough of either filling, what was there was covered by a light pastry dough and sprinkled with powdered sugar. The perfect way to end a meal.
When last reviewed in 2005, Elena's received three stars. It retains that rating this year.
Lenore Devore can be reached at lenore.devore@theledger.com or 802-7501.
