New York City 2023 Travel Log: Day 2 — A Chinese-Cuban Food Adventure at Calle Dao

My brother and I don't have a ton in common aside from our jowls and our lashes, but one thing we both appreciate is trying new types of food. Knowing this, he always tries to introduce us to interesting restaurants whenever we're visiting him in NYC, so he decided to take us to Calle Dao for Cuban-Chinese food:

Fish and shrimp ceviche with sesame ponzu and plantain chips
Grilled shrimp with garlic yuzu mojo sauce
Chicken empanadas with curry mojo sauce
Chimichurri pepper flat iron steak with white rice, beans, and maduros
Tofu stir-fry with shiitake mushrooms, snow peas, celery, and chili black bean sauce

Cuban food isn't that popular in Toronto so I'm not very familiar with it, but I thought every dish was excellent with marriages of flavours that are truly inspired. The ceviche and the chimichurri steak were stand-outs for me, but the tofu stir-fry — which I would never have thought to order because it doesn't sound particularly interesting — was surprisingly flavourful and aromatic. To be honest, I didn't think such a fusion existed, but I'm realizing that NYC has everything in abundance.

Calle Dao

38 W 39th St.

New York, NY 10018

(646) 476-5696

NYC — Spring 2013: Tina's Cuban Cuisine

My brother, not having much time to spare from work but wanting to see us before we left the city, took us out for a quick lunch on our last day in New York. As both his office and our hotel is in midtown, he decided to take us to one of his favourite lunch spots in the area, Tina's Cuban Cuisine. As you can guess by the name of the restaurant, they serve Chinese food. Just kidding, they serve Cuban. Anyway, this is a place that I would never really stop in on my own; it's somewhere you're brought by a local. It looks very unassuming from the outside, with just a simple awning and a board featuring the menu and weekly specials. It's more popular for take-out and delivery, as the massive line-up in the take-out section and half a dozen delivery guys running in and out of the place can attest to, but there is a small dining area in the back (by small, I mean like, eight tables) for those who want to eat in. We somehow managed to grab the last table, which was a miracle in itself since we were in the middle of lunch rush. 

This place is very no-nonsense: there is no ambiance (lots of fluorescent lighting and almost zero decor), and both the customers and the staff are constantly in a hurry (it is New York, after all). However, they serve authentic, cheap, and tasty Cuban comfort food. Upon recommendation from my brother, we all got the roasted pork with yellow rice and sweet plantains, which comes in very generous portions. Dependable, filling, and totally satisfying. What really makes their food truly addictive, though, is their spicy green sauce, which is some sort of creamy pico de gallo concoction. Seriously, regulars of the place know to drench their food in it, and for good reason — this sauce is to their food like tzatziki is to souvlaki or hummus is to a falafel pita. That is to say, a necessary component and quite possibly the best part of the meal. And I swear, it's like crack — apparently, people started asking for so much of the green sauce on the side that they had to start charging extra for it (however, if you dine in, the sauce is unlimited and a table of four people can very easily finish one entire bottle). 
Our waitress was friendly and insanely efficient (she was legit running everywhere, as she is the only person working the dine-in area and also helping with the take-out line) — since they are consistently cooking for the constant stream of people coming in, they serve you super-fast and the food is hot and freshly made. At about $12 per person after tax, it proved to be by far the cheapest meal of our trip. In an area full of incredibly expensive restaurants, I can see why so many locals — from students to suits — reach here nearly everyday for a quick and affordable lunch. If you're visiting New York on a budget and find yourself in midtown (or maybe you're just craving Cuban food), Tina's is worth a visit.

Tina's Cuban Cuisine 179 Madison Avenue New York, NY 10016 (212) 679-3500