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