Key Largo Cuban Restaurant
My Favorite Cuban Restaurant in Key Largo
This fast-food Cuban restaurant, located at Mile Marker 103.2 Bayside is one of our Key Largo favorites.
Its name is "La Casa de los Jugos," Spanish for "The Juice House." The menu offers authentic Cuban cuisine
plus numerous fruit juices, some of which those outside the hispanic-american culture may never have heard of.
Besides a glass of juice from the familiar pineapple, you can also get juice from the guava, mamey, mango, and
papaya. Actually, they serve about 15 to 20 different kinds of fruit juices. One of my favorites is watermelon
juice. What a great way to enjoy watermelon. Just juice it and drink the juice. It makes me wonder why we North
Americans never thought to do that.
On our most recent trip to Key Largo, my wife, son, father-in-law and I headed straight for la
Casa the first night in town.
Inside the Juice House
We had black beans and rice, along with fried plantains. We also enjoyed the "carne molida" (ground beef properly spiced
up to Cuban standards) and "ropa vieja" (literally, "old clothes" but this is a pulled beef
or pork dish--I'm not sure which--once again, spiced up to suit Cuban tastes).
Plantains are a large type of banana, suitable for cooking. There are two varieties
of fried plantains--"tostones" and "maduros." Tostones are smashed and fried green plantains, while maduros
are the ripened fruits fried in what tastes like butter and brown sugar. The maduros go especially well
with beans, rice, and meat dishes.
On future visits, I'm going to try the paella, a traditional dish originating in Valencia, Spain consisting usually
of a variety of shellfish, sometimes chicken, and peas, all mixed up with yellow rice, and spiced to perfection.
Don't want a full meal? Try an old favorite--the Cuban sandwich.
La Casa serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and the menu is posted on the wall.
While you're there, say say hello to Maribel Reyes, the owner. This hard-working lady has every right to be proud
of her establishment.
Maribel Reyes Makes Great Cuban Food
Oh, and one last thing--before you leave "la Casa" you might want to finish off your meal with
a cup of strong Cuban expresso, or maybe a "cafe con leche."
Buen provecho!
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