WINE DINE AND TRAVEL SUMMER 2020 -- SOUTH AFRICA

the National Assembly is a renewed source of
pride. The same thing is planned for the neighboring
Gran Teatro de la Habana, home of the worldfamous
Cuban National Ballet. To our chagrin, we
did not program attending a performance. A word
to the wise: obtain tickets upon arrival.
Carlos knew just where to take us for lunch for
our first taste of Cuban cuisine. Ropa vieja (old
clothes) is Cuba’s comfort food, and the specialty
of the intimate Café Mambo Habana. We dug with
gusto into Cuba’s classic dish of shredded pork
stewed with bell peppers and tomatoes, and a side
of Moros y Cristianos (black beans and rice). We
were to eat multiple versions of these dishes during
our 9 days, and Café Mambo’s was a delicious
“Hola Carlos!” rang out a number of times. Our
guide had grown up in the neighborhood, and
these were his “peeps”. “Not many Cubans choose
to live in this area of town anymore, except my
mother!” he exclaimed. He led us down a narrow
alley that opened up onto the elegant Paseo del
Prado. We stood facing a clone of our capitol
building. “Our capitol was built with sugar boom
money between 1926 and 1929,” said Carlos. He
added: “It was modeled after the US Capitol but it
is just a little wider and a little taller!” The landmark
was an eyesore for decades until local authorities
undertook its restoration ahead of
Havana’s 500th anniversary. The process took
close to ten years. Today, the resplendent home of
introduction. Three cooks, all young men, practiced
their culinary skills in the galley at the back
of this diminutive diner.
Our hunger pangs appeased, it was back to
Vedado along the Malecon, the 8-mile long oceanfront
boulevard that skirts Havana Vieja. Dog and
owners took their daily paseo, and youngsters
skipped long the sidewalk, or jumped into the
waves that crashed over the low parapet. Silhouetted
against the gray skies, lone fishermen stood
on the rocks hoping to reel in a fresh catch.
An excursion across the bay allowed us to take
the whole Malecon panorama from the fortress of
Castillo de los Tres Reyes del Morro. The view
from the ramparts made clear why Spanish ex-
WINEDINEANDTRAVEL.COM 179