Tasty! in Havana
HAVANA, WITHOUT THE MALECÓN
If you have never been to Havana, few things and places will get you there except visiting it. But to great ills, great remedies. Havana _(Génova, 28) _ has come to the city to give us a little piece of the aesthetic essence of Cuba without the need for a visa or passport -it doesn't have a boardwalk either, it had to have some drawback, hey-. Colonial atmosphere to the fullest, with palm trees even in the bathroom, a piano in the middle of the living room, chairs that are swings -rockers, floral upholstery, floor lined with black and white tiles, garden chairs and a lot of wrought iron aged as by the passing of the years. Oh, the typical decadent and romantic aesthetic that so well defines the Cuban essence.
On the menu, natural juices with flavors brought from the Tropics -mango, banana, passion fruit...-, and other delicacies from there, such as Lima causes in nigiri format, old clothes, Cuban sandwich, Cuban-style rice bags and arepitas stuffed with chicken , dishes that share a menu with more proposals from here, from a Cordovan salmorejo and a smoked sardine coca, to mussel croquettes and candied artichokes. And all with much asúúúúcar!
tropical relaxation
THE CARIBBEAN, ON THE SHORES OF THE PASEO DE RECOLETOS
You don't have to take a plane to enjoy the interior Caribbean atmosphere, the one you live in the mansions and villas that dot the sea of turquoise waters and paradisiacal beaches . Because, although the comparisons are odious -and the landscapes of the horizon very different-, it is enough for a little while in The Boss Home Bar _(Calle de Recoletos, 14) _ to get rid of the taste bug left by the other side of the Atlantic. Home atmosphere, the kind that only the perfect hostesses -the 'bosses' of each house- know how to create, in a place of more than 200 square meters of purely Caribbean aesthetics.
In so many meters fit from a front porch , one of those that welcome you at any time of the day, to a more intimate dining room, and even a private space for more personal meetings. Do not overlook the staircase that leads to the basement, where the cellar full of signature wines and the bathrooms are located, dotted with leafy plants and brightly colored flowers. Walls upholstered with fabrics that simulate exotic landscapes , a bar full of tropical fruits and bottles that invite you to think of mixed drinks to get carried away until dawn. This Jefa, moreover, is Caribbean even on the menu, in which the flavors from the other side of the pond -Venezuela, Peru and even Southeast Asia if you push me- are the protagonists. Chili, papaya, cassava... they share recipes with nori seaweed, wan tun pasta and mayo-japo. A round site, one of those to which you always want to return.
Chocolate with papaya and avocado at La Jefa Home Bar
MEXICO IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD OF SALAMANCA
It is true that with the palate (and eyes tightly closed) we can travel to any part of the world. But if we open them, we realize that we are still here, in this wonderful and suffocating city. Unless you're in mexkisito (_Calle de Recoletos, 11) _, a rather modest-sized restaurant, located on the other side of Paseo de Recoletos, in the noble area of the city, but with an authentic and genuinely Mexican aesthetic : very popular, like crumbling, with an air of deteriorated vintage luxury and yet, with a lot of glamour, full of symbols of the deepest Mayan culture , like the skulls that honor the rite of the dead.
Mexkisito's surname says it all: craving , or what amounts to the same thing, a popular dive in deep Mexico where one goes to drink 'whatever you want' -here we would call it 'going for tapas'-, that's why the menu includes dishes from there as well as those tortilla chips - homemade nachos - with three guacamoles, tacos or grilled chicken chilaquiles. Although the star is the drinks: mezcal and tequilas in the format of signature cocktails -the kind that make you forget what you drank as a teenager are salt and lemon, and without knowledge-. It really is worth the little trip to Recoletos.
TORTILLA CHIPS
We'll leave the little horses for the next...