Warming up to Cuban comfort food and music on a blustery fall day

Pargo Frito or Fried Red Snapper at Casual Habana Cafe in Hackensack, above and below.

The popular Main Street restaurant serves Cuban comfort food at reasonable prices.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Dashing out for an early dinner at a local restaurant turned into a comedy of errors on a rainy, windy afternoon.

On Saturday, we forgot that Art of Spice, a terrific Indian restaurant in Hackensack, closes between lunch and dinner, and we pulled in vain on the back door.

Then, we found a spot a half-block away on Main Street, and walked through wind-driven rain to the front door, where the hours were listed.

We were a half-hour early for the 5 p.m. dinner opening.

Luckily, we had parked in front of Casual Habana Cafe, one of our favorite restaurants in Hackensack, and decided to eat there.

We didn't have a reservation, which is recommended on weekends, and were given a table for four (tables for two pushed together), but during our meal, we had to give up one of them, making it difficult to juggle all the plates and glasses.

As the sound system played the Buena Vista Social Club and Cuban salsa, we ordered and then enjoyed:

A whole Fried Red Snapper ($19) with a side of soupy black beans and rice, a salad with avocado and pineapple ($7); a side of Tostones ($4), twice-smashed and fried green plantains; and Basil Lemonade for my wife ($3).

The fish was fried beautifully -- the flesh was moist and there was no greasy taste. It was perfect for two, but could serve three, if you order another entree.

We also ordered takeout, a large Chicken Soup ($7) and more Tostones, but instead of the fried green plantains, we got Arroz Moro, a dirty rice also known as congris ($4).

No Cuban meal is complete without Tostones ($4).

Ensalada Aguacate or Avocado Salad ($7) was difficult to eat because the romaine lettuce was cut into narrow ribbons.

Cubans sometimes call soupy black beans served with white rice Moors and Christians, a reference to the Moorish occupation of Spain from 711 to 1492.

My wife finds the Basil Lemonade ($3) too sweet so she asked for hers with seltzer.

A corner table at Casual Habana Cafe in Hackensack.

Details

Casual Habana Cafe, 125 Main St., Hackensack; 201-880-9844. Open 7 days. BYO, metered street parking and a small lot in the rear. 

Website: Authentic Cuban Cuisine

Where Moors and Christians break bread in Hackensack

Shrimp Ceviche at Casual Habana Cafe in Hackensack.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

The classic Cuban dish of soupy black beans served with white rice is called "Moors and Christians," a reference to the long occupation of Spain that ended in 1492.

At the popular Casual Habana Cafe in Hackensack, that's ancient history.

This cozy BYO offers great food at moderate prices, blending Spanish, French and native influences from the Caribbean's biggest island.

Our visits to Casual Habana are rare, but each time we're reminded of just how well-prepared the food is.

The large menu offers roast pork, red snapper and other mainstays, but you'll also find empanadas and tamales; appetizers, salads and sides, including black beans and white rice.
  

A spinach-and-roasted beet salad can be ordered by itself or a skewered shrimp, above; salmon, steak or chicken. The salad dressing is described as Spanish amontillado sherry vinaigrette.

My Ensalada Casera included field greens, dried papaya and sinfully rich goat cheese dressed in a passion fruit vinaigrette.

We order small

Three of us ordered an appetizer, salads, a soup and a side dish.

My wife asked for grilled shrimp, a $6 supplement, with her spinach-and-roasted beet salad, also $6. 

She also had a tall glass of the restaurant's own lemonade with basil ($3).

My mother-in-law ordered grilled salmon with the same salad for a total of $12.

My appetizer of crunchy Shrimp Ceviche with red onions and baked yuca was $8, and I also ordered Cuban Black Bean Soup ($5) and a Casera Salad ($6).

We shared an order of Tostones, crispy disks of green plantain that are smashed and fried, and served with a dipping sauce ($4).

You could easily make a meal of side dishes, such as steamed fresh vegetables, yuca with garlic and Aroz Moro, also called dirty rice or congris ($4 each).

There is that word "moro" -- Moors -- again. Aroz Moro is a delicious dish of white rice cooked with black beans.

Waiting for our food

We arrived without a reservation, but were seated at a table facing the back of the restaurant and the kitchen. Only a couple of other tables were occupied

Both the dining room and kitchen are well-staffed, but we had to wait for our food, longer than we thought necessary.

By the the time we left around 6:15 Saturday night, the place was almost full.

Tostones, twice-smashed and fried green plantains, are so addictive we asked for another order to go, and my wife prepared more at home the next morning.

Saturday night's specials were listed on a small A-board.

Casual Habana, a BYO, provides a bottle of tap water for the table, a practice many other restaurants should follow.

By 6:15 on Saturday night, nearly every table was filled by customers who had reserved.

Casual Habana Cafe, 125 Main St., Hackensack; 1-201-880-9844. BYO, metered street parking until 6 p.m., except Sunday. 

Open 7 days. Buffet lunch on weekdays. Reservations recommended on weekends.

Web site: A menu of Cuban delights

From Dos Cubanos to no Cubanos in Paramus

Dos Cubanos, a moderately priced Cuban restaurant, opened in May 2012 in the space on Route 4 in Paramus once occupied by Fuddruckers, which served hamburgers, beer and wine.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

I fell in love with Cuban food on seven trips to the biggest island in the Caribbean, but never ate at Dos Cubanos in Paramus.

When I want my fix of whole red snapper with white rice and black beans, I drive a short distance to Casual Habana Cafe, a BYO at 125 Main St. in Hackensack.

For a Cuban sandwich made with my own smoked wild salmon instead of ham and roast pork, I go to La Pola at 54th Street and Palisade Avenue in West New York, a cafe also known as "The King of the Cuban Sandwich."

Today, I noticed Dos Cubanos is closed and its name was removed from the sign in front of 282 Route 4 east in Paramus.

The owners called it the biggest Cuban restaurant in Bergen County.

A permit for a temporary sign offering restaurant space is taped to the glass next to the front door.

Before Fuddruckers, the hamburger restaurant, Le Peep, which served breakfast and lunch, occupied the half of the building that housed Dos Cubanos, which opened in 2012 after extensive renovations.

Popeyes continues to operate next to the shuttered Cuban restaurant.

A tasty Cuban dinner for 4 in Hackensack

Fried Whole Red Snapper ($17), front, and Caribbean Paella ($19) at Casual Habana Cafe in Hackensack. Entrees come with two side dishes, such as black beans and white rice.

Tostones ($5), twice-mashed-and-fried green plantains.

House or Casera Salad ($6), with goat cheese and dried papaya.

Spinach Salad ($6), with blue cheese and beets.

Chicharron de Pollo ($5) or fried chicken.

Side dishes of vegetables and dirty rice or congris.

The beautifully renovated interior.

Ropa vieja and pernil are among traditional dishes. Our meal for 4 on Saturday night included Cuban Chicken Soup ($5), and cost $22 a person, including tip and tax.

Casual Habana Cafe, 123 Main St., Hackensack; 201-880-9844. BYO, small parking lot in rear, metered street parking.

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H Mart parking lot repairs drag on

No exit at H Mart, the Korean supermarket in Englewood.

Editor's note: Today, I discuss changes in the local food scene.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

How long does it take to repair the exit of the parking lot at H Mart in Englewood?

The pavement covering about one-quarter of the lot was torn up several weeks ago and has stayed that way, forcing customers to use the entrance as an exit or risk damaging their cars' wheels and tires.

For years, a sunken drainage grate and broken pavement made exiting the lot a challenge for customers of the Korean supermarket, even after the interior was renovated in 2011.

Today, I bought spicy stewed tofu and stewed pollock, two prepared dishes, at H Mart. 

On the way out, I caught the delicious scent of Korean yams roasting in the vestibule.

A large yam with sweet, white flesh was $1, and I took it out of the paper bag and started eating it as I drove out the entrance, surprising two customers who were about to enter the lot.

In related news, Jerry's Gourmet & More on South Dean Street in Englewood recently re-striped its parking lot to provide wider spaces, delighting customers who were taking up two spots to avoid getting dings and dents in their cars.
  

Casual Habana Catering

Habana Room Catering has opened on Main Street in Hackensack opposite the Johnson Public Library.

The space, near the corner of Camden Street, is available for private parties, but signs in the window don't provide a telephone number.

The phone number for Casual Habana Cafe is 201-880-9844. 

Two new additions to the casual food scene in Teaneck are Teaneck Sushi Buffet at 972 Teaneck Road and Coffeecol Arepa Bar & Grill at 1126 Teaneck Road.

I saw a large "All You Can Eat" sign on the sushi buffet storefront today, and thought that is the one reason I'll never go there.

A quiet success on Main Street

The whole red snapper at Casual Habana Cafe is a bargain at $17.

Casual Habana Cafe is a bright spot on one of those blocks in downtown Hackensack that have seen better days.

The Cuban restaurant is flanked by Limon, a large market that closed more than 2 years ago, and a fenced-off building that is being repaired after losing part of its facade last September.

The BYO Casual Habana seems to be having better luck -- its new interior filled with large family groups sharing bottles of wine and beer along with such Cuban classics as whole red snapper and ropa vieja (braised and shredded flank steak).

Avocado Salad includes dry mango and a passion-fruit vinaigrette.

Chicharrones are deep-fried pork rinds.

Twice-fried green plantains are called Tostones.

Three of us shared two salads, three side dishes and an entree -- a whole red snapper that was deep-fried to a crisp, but which remained moist inside ($17).

The fish appeared to be a 2-pounder. It came with two sides, so we asked for a small bowl of soupy black beans and white rice, a combination Cubans call Moors and Christians.

I loved the fried fish, and really enjoyed eating the juicy flesh and crunchy tail.

My wife said a man at the next table was enjoying a seafood dish with shrimp and shellfish, possibly the Caribbean Paella ($15). 

Boiled yuca.

Our side dishes included Boiled Yuca in Garlic ($4), the one item we thought could have been improved.

Our House Salad, with dry papaya and goat cheese, was $5; an Avocado Salad was $6, and Tostones were only $3.

I left the fried pork rinds to the two meat eaters with me ($5), and they enjoyed them. I drank Limonada de Albahaca -- Basil Lemonade ($2.50). Delicious.

The reasonable prices meant three of us ate dinner for about $18 each, including tip and tax. 

However, service is weak. We can understand why the kitchen couldn't keep up with all of the orders from large groups, but we had to ask twice for extra plates and when we added another side dish to our order.

I wanted to take home leftover rice and black beans, as well as two or three pork rinds, but a waiter took the chicharrones into the kitchen and never gave them to us. The rice and beans stayed on the table.

We just wanted to get the check, pay and leave.

I loved the basil-infused lemonade.

I haven't been to Casual Habana for many years, but noticed when it was being renovated. Only the bare brick walls in the dining room were retained.

Since I stopped eating meat, bread and pizza to lose weight, I've stayed away from Cuban food, especially the wonderful Cuban sandwich and white rice.

But our visit to Casual Habana Cafe showed me there are plenty of salad and seafood dishes I can enjoy, and still eat a little of the classic rice-and-beans combination.

The building is the former site of DiSalvo's, a popular fish market and restaurant.

You can find authentic Cuban food behind the modest exterior.

On weekends, reservations are suggested.

Casual Habana Cafe, 125 Main St., Hackensack; 201-880-9844. BYO. $9.50 weekday lunch buffet. Metered street parking.


Web site: Delicious Cuban Food

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