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| - Driving through Larryville, the giant sign with the Spanish word 'Salud', followed by 'Cuban Cuisine' caught my eye. I hadn't noticed it before, and with good reason, since it's a fairly new restaurant. Now, speaking a little Spanish, the word 'Salud' can mean two different things. When raising a glass to a friend, one would say 'Salud' as in, 'To your health'. It can also mean just...health. So I wondered if this was some type of odd Cuban health food establishment, or just the vernacular use of the word. I was quite relieved to find it was NOT 'health' food, but genuine Cuban food.
I lived in Puerto Rico and Miami, which left me surrounded by Cuban eateries, so I was very curious to try this one out, and I must say, I was not disappointed in the least. Well, there WAS the issue of not having Cuban coffee...
The atmosphere kind of left something to be desired. And in my book, that's not usually such a bad thing. Big Jim's In The Run and Nied's Hotel come to mind. Both dives...both serving up great simple food. And I don't go out to eat 'atmosphere'.
Salud offers a short menu of authentic Cuban cuisine. Two things the Cubans seriously know how to do is roast pork and bake chicken. The kings of pork, really. We opted to both have the Lechon, with is a mojo marinated and roasted pulled pork, served with your choice of side, ranging from Congrie (con-GREE-ay) which is a fusion of rice and beans, to separated sides of rice and beans, red or black, fried yuca or plantains (yuca are really like french fries, and plantain like savory bananas).
The Lechon was absolutely delicious. Brimming with flavor, and perfectly paired with the congrie in my case. My friend has just the rice and red beans, and I sampled that as well, and it was just as tasty, though not as complex.
The only two disappointing factors were that it was 5:30 on a Friday, and for a half hour, we were the only customers. We sat at a table near the bar, and the back half of the restaurant was extremely dark. It wasn't until another couple came in that they turned on the lights nearer the back and we realized they has more of a 'dining room' area in the back which was much brighter. The food was terrific, and the bartender/host was extremely kind and friendly.
Second was the lack of Cuban coffee, which was on the menu. They said that the chef had 'lost' three pots since opening, and couldn't find another one. I make Cuban coffee, known as the 'colada' at home using my simple espresso machine, and it tastes exactly like what they served me in Miami. I can't understand why they couldn't find an espresso machine. Hit a community sale kids! You can grab five of them for $5 each! Since Pittsburghers seem to feel it's the BEST thing to give as a wedding or shower gift...and that Pittsburghers generally have NO use for.
When the second couple came in, the bartender plugged a few Latin tunes into the jukebox, and with the lights now on, the place was a little more alive.
They deserve to be much more alive. This is very good food. Authentic. Tasty.
If I could only convince them to add Fo Fo (known in Puerto Rico as Mofongo) which is a plantain base, topped with the pulled pork...or shrimp. Mmmmmmm.
Put down the Primanti and give it a try!
The prices are reasonable, they have a full bar, and the location is very doable.
Salud!
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