Casa Potin: Dulceria, Panaderia, y Cafeteria

On our way back to Miami from the Everglades, we passed by a ton of Cuban bakeries. It was already 1PM and Versailles was still further down the road, seeing how Tamiami Trail has not yet turned into Calle Ocho. We picked out a bakery randomly for a before lunch snack.

I felt ashamed that my high school Spanish has long gone down the drain when the lady behind the counter looked at me incredulously and said, "¿No hables español?" I resorted to saying "uno capuchino" and then using the univeresal language of pointing for ordering the croissant-looking pastry that lacked signage.

The capuchino has nothing to do with cappuccino flavoring. It's sort of like a rum baba but with a lighter cake batter. It's very sweet, but not bad.

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Capuchino

The warm croissant-like pastry has a thinly sugar coated exterior with a cream cheese filling. I would have never thought this combination would taste good together; this was a very pleasant surprise.

Flakey pastry filled with cream cheese

I highly recommend exploring the bakeries on Calle Ocho/Tamiami Trail.

Versailles: Cuban Restaurant

Versailles Cuban Cuisine

I read alot about Versailles (3555 S W Eighth Street, Miami, FL 33135 Tel: 305-444-0240) when researching must-eat Cuban food in Miami. This was on everyone's list, so naturally, it was at the top of mine although my mom had her reservations (She didn't like how the food looked in photos on flickr). I persuaded her with "but Cuban Americans eat here and it's on Calle Ocho so it must be good!"

Well...either my expectations were too high, or having eaten at El Siboney first spoiled it for me. Let's start with the buttered toasts. The basket came dripping with butter. It seeped through the paper lining the basket and made the table slick and oily. Hmmm...Did I dare take a bite? I dared, and it was ehh. It tasted more like a gigantic crouton than toast. El Siboney's buttered Cuban bread maintained a soft inside and is toasted like a Cuban sandwich. This was toasted like your normal breakfast toast.

I insisted on ordering the Vaca Frita because someone had recommended it. I found it chewy, as expected when beef is cooked, shredded, then fried. The beef and onions dripped with oil. I struggled through eating half of it. The plantains were better than the burnt ones at El Siboney and the rice and beans was excellent.

Mom ordered the today's special-ham shank "Lacon" with sausage because of our fondness for Schweinehaxe. The shank was moist, and the crisp pickled onions goes well with the melt-in-your-mouth meat. I detested the sausage. The overly soft texture weirded me out.

Vaca Frita and Ham Shank "Lacon"

Although everyone around us ordered desserts, I felt too full to consume much of anything else. So I ended the meal with a cortadito. Delicioso!

Cortadito

El Siboney

Mom read about El Siboney's Paella Valenciana before our trip, so I made sure to call in an order of paella for two the morning we arrived in Key West. El Siboney is located in a residential neighborhood, away from the touristy bars near Mallory Square. Be patient with all the one way streets when finding your way to El Siboney. It's well worth the maze.

El Siboney

The toasted and buttered Cuban bread was simple and delicious. It was hard to restrain ourselves from eating more than half a piece because we knew an impossible amount of food awaited us. The fried plantains were ok. I didn't bother to eat more than 2 pieces because I knew I would be eating them elsewhere during my stay in Miami.

Cuban Bread and Fried Plantains

There was a hush in the restaurant as the waiter brought over our paella. We were the only table that ordered it, and we were damn proud that we did. The paella for 2 was more like paella for 6! It had dark and white meat chicken, a ton of shrimp (almost one shrimp per spoonful of paella), and a whole lobster tail. The key lime juice gave the paella a refreshing citrus taste. The rice was fluffy, flavorful, and just the right amount of savoryness. We ate 1/3 of the bowl and boxed the rest for a late night dinner back in our hotel in Miami.

Paella Valenciana