Southern Cooking...Really Southern (as in 90 miles south of Key West)

For 30 of my 36 years I lived in Florida. There are many things our family still misses about Florida, and Cuban food is pretty close to the top of our list.

We had an opportunity to eat at the Cafe Habana in Lafayette for my son's birthday this week. I wish this was a scratch and sniff blog so you could experience the flavors and smells of this South Florida food we love.

The basic black beans and rice (Miami style) with some fresh onion on top~

The rope vieja (shredded beef), with some maduros (sweet fried plantains), and black beans and rice~

The palomilla steak with onions on top, maduros, black beans and rice~

The traditional Cuban sandwich. This is the BEST sandwich I've ever had. The perfect blend of ham, shredded roast beef, cheese, mustard, pickles toasted/grilled in just the right way with the right seasonings~

The ropa vieja wasn't as good as usual. The beans needed a bit of salt. We seemed to have cleaned our plates either way! We love cajun culture and cajun food, but it's nice to revisit our culinary past every once in a while.