Havana Central

This was written on March '07, not sure how accurate it may be today but helpfully it may be useful.

Once the West End, the new management has spinned the American restaurant/bar where mostly freshmen flocked and breed as a night spot into a Latin Cuban fare. Decor and ambiance was better than I thought. The place was full, the bar situated in the center, there are booths on the each sides, with another dining area at the back. The place had a good vibe and the smell of brand new furniture.

The food
The yellow rice made a great debut--tender yet not overcooked, actually just right. The red beans were at par as well. I ordered the Havana - Style B B Q Pork Ribs with mango habanero ginger sauce aka "best almost barbecued ribs in NY" by the Village Voice. I would like to DISAGREE, it was by far the BLAND-est ribs I've come across. I was disappointed by the weakness in flavor. It was obvious that the ribs were not marinated while it was cooking. The signature sauce tasted like sweet and sour pork in a Chinese take out. The sauce failed to meet the demands of the ribs. Ribs require a great deal of spices to bring out the tenderness of the meat. Thus the drizzle of the mango habanero did not cut it-- it was simply not strong enough to bring out the potential for the pork. Lackluster.

Recommended: Go for the rice and beans.

2911 Broadway (between 113th & 114th Street) Phone: 212 662-8830

Kasadela

Discovered one of my childhood unknown English-existent word veggie from motherland china; lotus root, sliced as thin as potato chips and tasted just like them. I'm not sure if that was worth $3.50, you can get over 3lbs of lotus root in C-Town or get a big bag of gourmet route 66 chips for the price of this less-than 4ounce of Kasadela's chips but I do commend them for their creative. Ordered the Tebasaki Nagoya 8pcs, Japanese style chicken wings, a quite over-fried that might have even shrank the wings but well seasoned--I mean that in a good way--infused with fresh grind pepper with a sweet and sour base. Ordered one of the specials, tofu Dengaku, steamed tofu covered in a smooth but plain oyster sauce-- maybe they thought the sprinkle of sesame seed would do the trick but it was not appealing nor tasty enough to be considered a special. The end was with dolce, I usually don't, but I figured we had light entrees, what the heck and they claim its homemade. The green tea tempura ice cream, where should I start... well I noticed it was pre-made and imagine your typical tempura--but now with a fulling of ice cream--it wasn't as crispy in fact it got soggy in a bed of whipped cream topped with two slices of kiwi. The presentation was a little out of context but I'm not complaining. In addition we ordered the sesame seed ice cream, the good thing about this is that there's real sesame seeds and it does taste like they're in it.

Its a chill place, not rushed-or at least that was how we felt or maybe cos it was a slow nite either way, the music is smoothing so you can kick back and chat with sake. I give them credit to paying some attention to detail on the dishes, so don't feel like there isn't any skill involved. The portion of dishes vary in size so do the price. Will I come again? Sure, but not for a while.

larger than tapas, jap style.

Kasadela, 647 E 11th St, Btwn Ave B & Ave C

The Heights

3 out of 5

Critique: Went for dinner, ate up at the deck. Can't say the food was great. Ordered the Buffalo wings with "inhumane" level of intensity turned out it was inhumanely salty than spicy. Plus it was not as crispy as I would have liked it. The second appetizer Buffalo Finger was soggy and strips were a little too thick. Entrees: The Mexican Timpano looked like an explosion--huge mess. There was so much favor and imbalance of taste that I couldn't make out what I was eating. It seemed like all the left-overs that compiled from the night before. The Jerky Chicken Breast was too peppered than jerked, tough the breast itself was not dry, it could have some type of sauce to add some character to the lonely chicken. The veggie for the day was steamed. The dish just consists of the overly seasoned peppered chicken and broccoli, it left me a little disappointed.

The good: Though the Food was not great, the portions are bigger than average (I took a lot back home) with a reasonable price for student dining.

The Scene: Its a place for College students to hang out and drink, The Heights is known to be more of a bar scene than a dining experience. It wouldn't be a good place to propose to your long time girlfriend but its a place to kill time and not think. It's good place for a large group to down on wings and beer and not to be taken seriously.

Overall I didn't feel like I was paying more than what I ordered (it was well-portioned) but the food can do better but than again when people are drunk we don't take our palate into much consideration.

FYI: If you eat up on the deck, note that your food is being carried upstairs, and it might not be as hot as it should.

The Heights Bar & Grill Btwn 111th & 112th St Broadway