¡Cuba! Fundamentally Flawed

Craig LaBan turns his eyes towards ¡Cuba!, a Cuban BYOB in Chestnut Hill and finds the promising spot missing some essentials.

At ¡Cuba!, the traditional flavors don’t go nearly deep enough, or far enough beyond, to really merit the prices. Is a simple plate of pulled roast pork shoulder, pernil asado, worth $24 because it comes with a squishy, underseasoned tamale and over-pickled green beans? Ay-yay-yay! Bacalao is traditionally rehydrated salt cod in a piquant tomato sauce. But it loses its funk in a goofy rendition here with fresh cod, a small fillet over dry, parboiled rice beneath a lurid yellow mango cream and a handful of shrimp so tiny and chewy they were hardly worth the flourish.

One Bell – Hit-or-miss

¡Cuba! [Philadelphia Inquirer]