Diners, Drive-ins and Dives (2006–…): Season 24, Episode 11 - Cruisin' in Cuba - full transcript
The food scene in Cuba is explored by host Guy Fieri, who starts his trip by paying homage to a famous chef, when he prepares coffee lobster and a pork plate. Next up, he stops at a Soviet spot known for Russian ravioli and rich c...
[ Spanish music playing ]
I'm Guy Fieri
and we're rollin' out
on a special edition
of "Diners, Drive-ins
and Dives" in Cuba.
♪
I know you're going,
"Are you serious? He's in Cuba?"
Yep. We're on the island
of mojitos and music...
♪
...cigars and classic cars.
[ Tires screech ]
And of course, as we cruise
across the capital city,
we're diving
into the rich Cuban cuisine
in this exploding food scene.
It's so good.
I'm not talkin' "kind of good."
Whether it's outdoor grilling
on a Paladar patio...
Very talented.
...legendary recipes
from a celebrated chef...
I've had lobster a lot of ways.
I've never had lobster
with coffee sauce.
...or even real-deal
Soviet specialties...
Ah ha ha,
this looks good.
...it's a cultural experience
not to be forgotten.
Because this is authentic.
So get ready to dig in,
absorb the view,
and enjoy the ride.
Outrageous.
That's all right here,
right now,
on "Triple D"
in Havana, Cuba.
[ Horns honking ]
♪
[ Spanish music playing ]
[ Sea birds calling ]
♪
Never in a million years
would you tell me
that I'm gonna make it to Cuba.
Here I am, "Diners,
Drive-ins and Dives,"
in Havana, Cuba.
And I gotta tell you something,
I'm blown away.
I've wanted to come here
since I was a kid,
'cause of the culture,
the food,
my appreciation for rum,
great cigars.
So I'm in an area
known as Old Havana
in Barbers' Alley.
You ask anybody
where Barbers' Alley is,
they'll be able to tell ya.
But I'm here
to check out a joint
that's got such a crazy story.
It's a tribute to a chef.
And I can give you
all the details.
But you have to hear it
to believe it.
This is El Figaro.
El Figaro -- off the chain.
Just knocked it
right outta the ballpark.
Traditional Cuban food...
FIERI: And based on
a lot of history,
something veteran employee
Joan Blanco is proud of.
This restaurant is a museum
for the life of what's
one of the most important chefs
in the Cuban history.
FIERI: His name was
Gilberto Smith Duquesne.
He was the personal chef
of many important people.
Like Frank Sinatra,
Nat King Cole,
Ernest Hemingway
and Brigitte Bardot.
All the food
that we offer here
is the food
that Gilberto cooked.
With Chef Alex Luco
carrying the torch,
making a splash with
this unique Gilberto specialty.
The lobster in coffee sauce.
Lobster in coffee sauce,
it's fantastic.
You need to know the tale
of the recipe.
FIERI: It goes back
to when Gilberto was cooking
for French President
Francois Mitterrand.
So Gilberto take a lot
of coffee.
He was in the kitchen,
cooked his famous lobster,
and the espresso dropped.
How you say
to the president, "Sorry.
The food is bad now,"
you know?
Mm-hmm.
As a good chef, he made it.
He fixed it.
And when Mitterrand
tried that, he said,
"Wow, I need more like that."
All right, Chef.
Beautiful lobster, look at that.
-And it's fresh.
-Never frozen.
When you do that,
you kill the flavor.
Do you have freezers in Cuba?
Yeah.
Not many.
I don't know.
Okay.
I don't work
in that sector.
"I don't work in that sector."
[ Laughs ]
I'd take this guy anywhere.
Okay.
Salt and pepper.
Not very much pepper.
It's white pepper.
Uh, exactly.
Lime juice, we put olive oil,
the lobster.
So just a little bit
of temperature.
Yeah.
So it's not tough.
The lobster, they will tell
you when it's ready...
[ All laughing ]
You're crazy.
The onions, butter...
Got it.
Seven-year rum.
[ Whistles ] Very dangerous
with my hair.
A little demi-glace.
Yeah.
Now, the vino blanco.
Capitan...
Okay.
Sí, sí, sí.
Champignon.
Mushrooms...
Yeah.
Parmesan?
A little bit.
Building the layers.
Yeah.
The hot sauce...
Okay.
A little coffee.
Coffee.
Kahlúa? For the lobster
or para tú?
-No.
-Oh. All right.
And crema...
Is the last part.
Oh, we're gonna stuff it back
in the shell.
Beautiful, and what is this?
Albahaca.
Oh, basil.
Bon appétit.
That's a delicious dish.
I thought the coffee
was gonna be too strong,
where you weren't gonna
get the lobster.
But not.
Very delicate.
Yeah.
It's not really strong seafood.
It's not just strong coffee.
It's a really good balance.
Excellent.
I know that Cubans love coffee.
Putting it into a lobster tail,
I didn't know.
Outstanding.
-Your lobster, sir.
-It's the best. The best.
Presentation was excellent.
So you know that I would not
come to Havana, Cuba,
without bringin' my family.
So my mom and dad
and of course my wife, Lori.
I've never had anything
like this.
I mean, I love coffee.
I love lobster,
but who ever thought
of putting them together?
It's absolutely delicious.
I don't know how they've been
married together so well.
-Bon appétit.
-[ Laughs ] Merci.
It's very good,
uh, food and good people.
FIERI: Starting
with Gilberto Reina,
known around here as Papito,
who owns the barber shop
that's anchored
this alley for years.
There are a lot of little shops
with different arts.
It just seems to be a street
full of togetherness,
so it gotta have good food.
What else are we gonna make?
Pork in Camagueyana style.
Camaguey is the province.
Pork, sir.
Pork loin, magnifique.
Oh, wrong language.
Magnifico. [ Laughs ]
Lomo...
Lomo...
...de cerdo...
...de cerdo...
BOTH: ...a la...
...a la...
BOTH: ...Camagueyana.
...Camagueyana.
Huh?
Nope, you're not tuning
in to the Spanish channel.
This is still "Triple D."
See you in a bit.
♪
[ Spanish music playing ]
[ Horn honks ]
Welcome back.
"Triple D" hanging out in Cuba.
I know you're going,
"Are you serious?
He's in Cuba?
Outrageous."
Now, we're here in Old Havana
in a joint called El Figaro.
Now, this restaurant
is all based upon a chef
that has cooked for...
Everybody.
That chef to the stars
was Gilberto Smith Duquesne,
and here, they're all about
cookin' up
his legendary recipes.
I'm from New York.
I'm used to eating good food.
This was truly spectacular.
The pork -- the pork loin
Camagueyana style.
Thin-cut pieces
of meat, sauteed peppers,
onions with a light sauce...
It's very good.
Camaguey is the area
in the center of Cuba,
so this is a dish
from that region.
Yeah.
Okay. Beautiful red color
on the pork.
So we put salt.
Okay.
Pureed garlic.
Some ajo.
Lime...
Marinate it a little bit.
Ay! There we go.
White wine.
Okay.
And then, the --
Rosemary, parsley.
Rosemary and parsley.
Demi-glace.
And now, we will prepare...
The sauce.
Yeah. Pepper.
Got it.
The onions, white wine,
and a spoon of demi-glace.
Next?
The final touch is a couple
of minutes cooked together.
Beautiful.
Tranquilo.
[ Laughs ]
[ Exhales ]
[ Hums ]
Namaste.
Okay.
That's pesto sauce.
Pesto sauce.
People wanna ask
how to make great flavor.
You gotta start
with fantastic products.
In Cuba, it's all organic.
All organic.
Very simple dish,
but in its flavor profile,
dynamite.
The peppers really have
a fantastic depth of flavor.
The texture of the pork,
the tenderness.
That kinda time and attention,
featuring the local products,
handmade by a young chef
like this, outstanding.
If I could get that
in a cubano...
We prefer a sandwich with that.
Do you?
Yeah.
Figaro.
Fantastic, man.
The chef had it on the money.
It was perfect.
Dad, you've had more pork
than we should talk about.
What do you think?
It's -- it's great.
I haven't had pork
like this, very tender.
So you know that if it's passed
my family's test,
this is the joint you gotta
check out -- El Figaro.
We're definitely
gonna come back,
and I'm gonna tell
everybody I know.
Okay. One more lobster.
[ Laughs ]
Otra langosta.
No. I'm kidding. I'm kidding.
Comin' up, we're headed
to a room with a view
on the island's main drag...
Unbelievable, man.
...where they're dishin' out
righteous Russian favorites...
Tell me that's not ridiculous.
...hittin' the culinary jackpot.
Oh-ho! Yahtzee!
♪
So welcome to Ocean Drive
in Miami Beach, Florida.
I'm -- Actually, I'm --
No. That's not where I'm at.
I'm on El Malecón
in, uh, Havana, Cuba.
So easy to get those two
mixed up being that they're
only, like, 90 miles away.
And I'm not here to check out
a Cuban restaurant. No.
I'm here to check out
a Soviet joint,
because you remember the whole
Cuban-Soviet teamwork thing.
What do you get?
You get a dynamite restaurant.
This is Nazdarovie.
-[ Speaks Russian ]
[ Bell dings ]
It's very, very good, as good
as any place in the world.
Stroganoff.
There is no difference
I can taste from the food here
and food I had back in Russia.
FIERI: And that's exactly what
Canadian-born attorney
Gregory Biniowky
was going for in 2014,
when he turned his home
into a tribute to his ancestors.
You are back
in the USSR in Havana.
This is prime-time place
to have a house,
and you turned it
into a restaurant?
-Yeah.
-Unbelievable, man.
Not enough people know
about the amazing cuisine
from Russia and the Ukraine.
I am a huge fan.
There isn't enough of it.
Yeah.
But there's plenty here, thanks
to their Russian-rooted staff,
including server Alexander Pena
and Chef Irina Butorina.
Pelmenis.
The ravioli was muy bueno.
It was tasty.
It was really tasty here.
-We're having Russian raviolis?
-Okay.
Pelmenis.
Pelmenis.
Pelmenis
always filled with meat.
It's one of the head dishes
of our restaurant.
Okay.
Chopped pork, chopped beef...
Beef.
Onions, garlic,
black pepper, salt.
We leave this to marinate.
We are ready
to prepare the dough.
So it's making
a traditional dough --
a little flour, a little egg
in the middle, a little salt.
Not too much water.
Mix it in.
How much kneading?
Five minutes.
And then how long
do we let it rest?
For a half hour.
And then, we roll it out?
Yeah.
How many of these has she made
in her lifetime?
[ Speaks Russian ]
Forty thousand.
She didn't say 40,000.
You can Google it.
And then we fill it
with the meat
that we already
have marinated.
Oh-ho, wait a second!
Right there, what you have
is a little Russian tortellini.
Forty thousand and four.
I'll keep you guys up to date.
My mother used
to tell me that --
Excuse me, 40,005.
40,005 have been made.
Go ahead.
They used to prepare it
in the summer
and put it in barrels
and keep it in the winter,
keep 'em frozen.
She has now made --
Wait for it.
We're gonna call
in for the total data board.
Yes. It's in.
40,015
of these things
that I can't pronounce.
Pelmenis.
Pelmenis.
Now we're gonna boil 'em
in a seasoned water
of laurel leaf, pepper and salt.
Yeah.
For 2 or 3 minutes.
Now we're going to toss
some butter, some dill.
That is very difficult
to get here.
Green onions, sour cream.
Okay.
Oh-ho-ho, this looks good.
Outrageous.
It's so good.
I'm not talkin' kind of good.
I'm not kiddin' you.
I have to take a picture.
Look at that.
I gotta send this home
to my friends.
I'm gonna bring
in the true taste-tester
of "Triple D," my wife Lori.
Tell me that's not ridiculous.
It's delicious.
Fantastic.
Always a fan of sour cream,
and the fresh herbs
are super nice.
As good as it would be
if you have it in Russia.
Amazing. I just come here
for this every time.
I think my favorite thing,
actually, about the restaurant
is the view
that you see outside.
This is the face of Havana.
What's it called?
Malecón. It means
"the ocean boulevard."
When you come here
as a tourist,
you gotta make a cruise
down this road.
[ Playing jazz ]
The music, the drawings,
the people,
the beach, it's great.
Russia doesn't have a beachfront
like that, does it?
No, it doesn't.
But it does have
a menu like this.
Cutlet a la Kiev.
Have you had
chicken Kiev before?
I'm sorry. I don't wanna talk
in the middle of your moment.
I'll be right here.
They were delicious.
What is next?
We're going to start
with preparing
the aromatized butter,
dill, parsley.
[ Speaks Russian ]
The lime juice.
Salt, lime shells.
The zest,
the skin of the lime.
Yeah.
Where is this gonna go?
It's going inside
of the meat.
We freeze it
so it doesn't melt.
And then we're gonna make
the chicken?
Yeah.
Okay.
Mix ground chicken
with onions, garlic,
black pepper, salt.
Put inside the butter.
I don't think I've ever
seen anything get stuffed
with just its own
big log of butter.
[ Laughs ]
Put it into flour.
And then, we pass it
through the egg.
Now in the breadcrumbs?
Two times,
you have to bread it.
Okay.
So the butter
doesn't come out.
Okay. So now, we're gonna fry it
in the oil?
Yeah.
Until it turns brown
and then go to the oven
and finish cooking.
What do we serve this with?
Mashed potatoes.
Okay.
And that's it.
No sauce, just...
No sauce, the sauce is inside.
Sauce is inside.
Oh-ho! Yahtzee!
Look at that.
I've had chicken Kiev.
I've never seen it
do that, dude.
Mmm, nice and juicy.
That's crazy.
Wow!
This just has flavor
all the way through it.
The key -- the dill.
Oh, man.
[ Speaks Russian ]
She said
it is very tasty.
Oh, I thought she said
I'm handsome.
No, no, no. This show
is about the chicken Kiev.
Oh, it is.
Sure, sure.
[ Laughs ]
Where'd this guy come from?
Very succulent.
I like the outer crust.
It's the herbs,
the mixture of flavors.
-[ Speaks Russian ]
[ Bell dings ]
You fall in love with the food,
and you keep coming.
You tell me when you wanna open
one of these in California.
[ Laughs ]
You're awesome, Gregory.
Up next...
Okay.
...a funky, open-air spot
behind a car wash...
El loco!
...firin' up rock-star ribs...
Delicious.
...and dishin' out
a Cuban classic.
♪ Da-da, da-da, da-da! ♪
♪
All right, so for my final stop
on this awesome
Havana, Cuba, tour,
I'm in downtown Havana,
over by what used to be
called the "Havana Hilton."
Now, this is a little bit
different.
You see, they rented out
the front yard.
Well, they got a car wash there.
And then they rented
out the back yard and, well,
it's this funky joint
all the locals go to.
This is Fonda La Paila.
Every time I come to Cuba,
I make sure I come here.
We've been to several
restaurants around Havana.
This is fantastic.
A wonderful place,
one of my favorites.
What type of restaurant is this?
Fonda is the food
coming out very fast.
[ Bell dings ]
Yeah, you come, eat, go.
FIERI: With Chef Ugo Chigon
manning the grill
and waiter Rodney Lugo servin'
up meaty Cuban favorites.
You have ribs now.
This sauce is absolutely
wonderful, marvelous.
-How do you say, again, "ribs?"
-Costilla.
-Costilla.
-Ay!
Costilla. Ay!
[ Laughs ]
The barbecue sauce for the ribs.
Yeah.
A little oil...
Okay.
Soy sauce.
You say it just like a gringo.
"Soy sauce!"
Do you use it a lot
in Cuban food?
Sí.
Comino, paprika, honey...
How do you say this in Spanish?
-Miel.
-Miel. I knew that.
Vinagre. Okay.
-Very good sauce.
-Thank you.
Okay. Now we're gonna make
the marinade.
Marinade.
Marinade.
Sí, marinade.
Okay.
Uh... [ Speaks Spanish ]
Es una naranja agria.
Yeah. That's a --
Sour orange. Yeah.
Ay!
[ Laughs ]
[ Speaks Spanish ]
Okay. Dry white wine.
[ Laughter ]
Okay.
Chiles...
Comino, doctor.
Sí.
Bay leaf, doctor.
How long is this going
to marinate?
[ Repeats in Spanish ]
And then, they sear the meat
into the fire.
Then, to the grill.
More slow.
Salsa?
In the grill, the sauce.
And then...
[ Speaking Spanish ]
Before -- before they
serve the meat,
they -- they sauce the meat.
Poquito mas.
Yeah.
Two times the sauce.
Two times. Okay.
This is one order?
Yeah.
Yeah.
[ Laughs ]
The ribs are tender.
The sauce...
delicious.
It tastes like a sauce
you would expect in Cuba.
You taste the orange.
You taste the sweet.
It has a lot
of the island flavor.
Delicious.
Thank you.
Very talented.
[ Bell dings ]
Nice, juicy, sticky.
Lots of flavor, very tender.
It's what sauce
on pork ribs is meant to be.
It's a nice, easy,
relaxed feel,
especially in the middle
of the day.
FIERI: The perfect setting
for this island staple...
Tostones.
FIERI: ...lamb cooked
in a scratch-made marinade
and stuffed in a fried plantain.
All right, so...
Chile.
Chiles.
-Cebollas, ajo...
-Garlic.
-The bay leaf.
-And...
-Romero.
-Rosemary?
-Rosemary. Yeah.
-Okay.
-Uh, comino.
-Comino. Okay.
Red wine, a dry wine.
-Boil rapido?
-Uh-huh.
And now we're gonna
sear the leg of lamb.
A little oil.
-Fifteen minutes?
-Sí.
And so the lamb is gonna go
in this and cook?
Yeah.
How long?
So, the lamb is ready, listo?
Yeah. Yeah. It's ready.
Hot oil, the chiles?
Uh-huh. Onions, garlic...
The carne?
-Lamb.
-Smells good.
A little of the, uh,
dry white wine?
-Tomate.
-Tomato sauce.
Tomato sauce? Sí?
Bay leaf...
Rosemary...
Rosemary? Okay.
Yeah.
Ground oregano,
the comino,
and the sal, sí?
This is all gonna go
on a plantain, a tostone?
Yeah.
So these are plantains
that have been cooked.
So now they're nice and soft.
We make a hole...
Right.
...in the --
in the tostone.
Right.
[ Laughing ]
There you have the hole!
So we make these.
Now, to the aceite.
BOTH: Yeah.
♪ Da-da, da-da, da-da! ♪
[ Laughter ]
You grab it
and push the meat...
Inside...
...inside it.
Now, the cheese.
This is traditional Cuban?
Yeah.
Okay. Now, to the oven?
-Yeah.
-Okay.
Uh, 4 minutes.
Four --
Four minutes.
Señor Inglés.
Yeah.
"Four minutes."
[ Laughter ]
Ketchup.
Ketchup. Ketchup?
Yeah. That's like, uh...
Like, gringo ketchup?
Yeah. Very pretty.
El loco!
Ay, el loco.
It's good?
Fantastic.
The lamb...
is what makes
the whole thing.
All the spices goin' on there,
the nice, crunchy shell
of the tostone --
delicious.
♪
Really nice and crunchy
and textural.
I wish
there would be more fondas
like La Paila in all Cuba.
This is the kind of place
that a lot of tourists wanna
find because this is authentic.
Nice job, Chef.
Okay.
Gracias.
Yeah.
Well, I guess we can check
Havana, Cuba,
off the bucket list,
but don't worry.
There's "Triple D" joints
all over this world.
I'll be lookin' for you
next time
on "Diners, Drive-ins
and Dives."
This is like a big
outdoor fiesta.
Ay, ay, we are party mans.
You are party mans?
Yeah.
I'm a party man, too.
Tres party mans!
Yeah. [ Laughs ]
I'm Guy Fieri
and we're rollin' out
on a special edition
of "Diners, Drive-ins
and Dives" in Cuba.
♪
I know you're going,
"Are you serious? He's in Cuba?"
Yep. We're on the island
of mojitos and music...
♪
...cigars and classic cars.
[ Tires screech ]
And of course, as we cruise
across the capital city,
we're diving
into the rich Cuban cuisine
in this exploding food scene.
It's so good.
I'm not talkin' "kind of good."
Whether it's outdoor grilling
on a Paladar patio...
Very talented.
...legendary recipes
from a celebrated chef...
I've had lobster a lot of ways.
I've never had lobster
with coffee sauce.
...or even real-deal
Soviet specialties...
Ah ha ha,
this looks good.
...it's a cultural experience
not to be forgotten.
Because this is authentic.
So get ready to dig in,
absorb the view,
and enjoy the ride.
Outrageous.
That's all right here,
right now,
on "Triple D"
in Havana, Cuba.
[ Horns honking ]
♪
[ Spanish music playing ]
[ Sea birds calling ]
♪
Never in a million years
would you tell me
that I'm gonna make it to Cuba.
Here I am, "Diners,
Drive-ins and Dives,"
in Havana, Cuba.
And I gotta tell you something,
I'm blown away.
I've wanted to come here
since I was a kid,
'cause of the culture,
the food,
my appreciation for rum,
great cigars.
So I'm in an area
known as Old Havana
in Barbers' Alley.
You ask anybody
where Barbers' Alley is,
they'll be able to tell ya.
But I'm here
to check out a joint
that's got such a crazy story.
It's a tribute to a chef.
And I can give you
all the details.
But you have to hear it
to believe it.
This is El Figaro.
El Figaro -- off the chain.
Just knocked it
right outta the ballpark.
Traditional Cuban food...
FIERI: And based on
a lot of history,
something veteran employee
Joan Blanco is proud of.
This restaurant is a museum
for the life of what's
one of the most important chefs
in the Cuban history.
FIERI: His name was
Gilberto Smith Duquesne.
He was the personal chef
of many important people.
Like Frank Sinatra,
Nat King Cole,
Ernest Hemingway
and Brigitte Bardot.
All the food
that we offer here
is the food
that Gilberto cooked.
With Chef Alex Luco
carrying the torch,
making a splash with
this unique Gilberto specialty.
The lobster in coffee sauce.
Lobster in coffee sauce,
it's fantastic.
You need to know the tale
of the recipe.
FIERI: It goes back
to when Gilberto was cooking
for French President
Francois Mitterrand.
So Gilberto take a lot
of coffee.
He was in the kitchen,
cooked his famous lobster,
and the espresso dropped.
How you say
to the president, "Sorry.
The food is bad now,"
you know?
Mm-hmm.
As a good chef, he made it.
He fixed it.
And when Mitterrand
tried that, he said,
"Wow, I need more like that."
All right, Chef.
Beautiful lobster, look at that.
-And it's fresh.
-Never frozen.
When you do that,
you kill the flavor.
Do you have freezers in Cuba?
Yeah.
Not many.
I don't know.
Okay.
I don't work
in that sector.
"I don't work in that sector."
[ Laughs ]
I'd take this guy anywhere.
Okay.
Salt and pepper.
Not very much pepper.
It's white pepper.
Uh, exactly.
Lime juice, we put olive oil,
the lobster.
So just a little bit
of temperature.
Yeah.
So it's not tough.
The lobster, they will tell
you when it's ready...
[ All laughing ]
You're crazy.
The onions, butter...
Got it.
Seven-year rum.
[ Whistles ] Very dangerous
with my hair.
A little demi-glace.
Yeah.
Now, the vino blanco.
Capitan...
Okay.
Sí, sí, sí.
Champignon.
Mushrooms...
Yeah.
Parmesan?
A little bit.
Building the layers.
Yeah.
The hot sauce...
Okay.
A little coffee.
Coffee.
Kahlúa? For the lobster
or para tú?
-No.
-Oh. All right.
And crema...
Is the last part.
Oh, we're gonna stuff it back
in the shell.
Beautiful, and what is this?
Albahaca.
Oh, basil.
Bon appétit.
That's a delicious dish.
I thought the coffee
was gonna be too strong,
where you weren't gonna
get the lobster.
But not.
Very delicate.
Yeah.
It's not really strong seafood.
It's not just strong coffee.
It's a really good balance.
Excellent.
I know that Cubans love coffee.
Putting it into a lobster tail,
I didn't know.
Outstanding.
-Your lobster, sir.
-It's the best. The best.
Presentation was excellent.
So you know that I would not
come to Havana, Cuba,
without bringin' my family.
So my mom and dad
and of course my wife, Lori.
I've never had anything
like this.
I mean, I love coffee.
I love lobster,
but who ever thought
of putting them together?
It's absolutely delicious.
I don't know how they've been
married together so well.
-Bon appétit.
-[ Laughs ] Merci.
It's very good,
uh, food and good people.
FIERI: Starting
with Gilberto Reina,
known around here as Papito,
who owns the barber shop
that's anchored
this alley for years.
There are a lot of little shops
with different arts.
It just seems to be a street
full of togetherness,
so it gotta have good food.
What else are we gonna make?
Pork in Camagueyana style.
Camaguey is the province.
Pork, sir.
Pork loin, magnifique.
Oh, wrong language.
Magnifico. [ Laughs ]
Lomo...
Lomo...
...de cerdo...
...de cerdo...
BOTH: ...a la...
...a la...
BOTH: ...Camagueyana.
...Camagueyana.
Huh?
Nope, you're not tuning
in to the Spanish channel.
This is still "Triple D."
See you in a bit.
♪
[ Spanish music playing ]
[ Horn honks ]
Welcome back.
"Triple D" hanging out in Cuba.
I know you're going,
"Are you serious?
He's in Cuba?
Outrageous."
Now, we're here in Old Havana
in a joint called El Figaro.
Now, this restaurant
is all based upon a chef
that has cooked for...
Everybody.
That chef to the stars
was Gilberto Smith Duquesne,
and here, they're all about
cookin' up
his legendary recipes.
I'm from New York.
I'm used to eating good food.
This was truly spectacular.
The pork -- the pork loin
Camagueyana style.
Thin-cut pieces
of meat, sauteed peppers,
onions with a light sauce...
It's very good.
Camaguey is the area
in the center of Cuba,
so this is a dish
from that region.
Yeah.
Okay. Beautiful red color
on the pork.
So we put salt.
Okay.
Pureed garlic.
Some ajo.
Lime...
Marinate it a little bit.
Ay! There we go.
White wine.
Okay.
And then, the --
Rosemary, parsley.
Rosemary and parsley.
Demi-glace.
And now, we will prepare...
The sauce.
Yeah. Pepper.
Got it.
The onions, white wine,
and a spoon of demi-glace.
Next?
The final touch is a couple
of minutes cooked together.
Beautiful.
Tranquilo.
[ Laughs ]
[ Exhales ]
[ Hums ]
Namaste.
Okay.
That's pesto sauce.
Pesto sauce.
People wanna ask
how to make great flavor.
You gotta start
with fantastic products.
In Cuba, it's all organic.
All organic.
Very simple dish,
but in its flavor profile,
dynamite.
The peppers really have
a fantastic depth of flavor.
The texture of the pork,
the tenderness.
That kinda time and attention,
featuring the local products,
handmade by a young chef
like this, outstanding.
If I could get that
in a cubano...
We prefer a sandwich with that.
Do you?
Yeah.
Figaro.
Fantastic, man.
The chef had it on the money.
It was perfect.
Dad, you've had more pork
than we should talk about.
What do you think?
It's -- it's great.
I haven't had pork
like this, very tender.
So you know that if it's passed
my family's test,
this is the joint you gotta
check out -- El Figaro.
We're definitely
gonna come back,
and I'm gonna tell
everybody I know.
Okay. One more lobster.
[ Laughs ]
Otra langosta.
No. I'm kidding. I'm kidding.
Comin' up, we're headed
to a room with a view
on the island's main drag...
Unbelievable, man.
...where they're dishin' out
righteous Russian favorites...
Tell me that's not ridiculous.
...hittin' the culinary jackpot.
Oh-ho! Yahtzee!
♪
So welcome to Ocean Drive
in Miami Beach, Florida.
I'm -- Actually, I'm --
No. That's not where I'm at.
I'm on El Malecón
in, uh, Havana, Cuba.
So easy to get those two
mixed up being that they're
only, like, 90 miles away.
And I'm not here to check out
a Cuban restaurant. No.
I'm here to check out
a Soviet joint,
because you remember the whole
Cuban-Soviet teamwork thing.
What do you get?
You get a dynamite restaurant.
This is Nazdarovie.
-[ Speaks Russian ]
[ Bell dings ]
It's very, very good, as good
as any place in the world.
Stroganoff.
There is no difference
I can taste from the food here
and food I had back in Russia.
FIERI: And that's exactly what
Canadian-born attorney
Gregory Biniowky
was going for in 2014,
when he turned his home
into a tribute to his ancestors.
You are back
in the USSR in Havana.
This is prime-time place
to have a house,
and you turned it
into a restaurant?
-Yeah.
-Unbelievable, man.
Not enough people know
about the amazing cuisine
from Russia and the Ukraine.
I am a huge fan.
There isn't enough of it.
Yeah.
But there's plenty here, thanks
to their Russian-rooted staff,
including server Alexander Pena
and Chef Irina Butorina.
Pelmenis.
The ravioli was muy bueno.
It was tasty.
It was really tasty here.
-We're having Russian raviolis?
-Okay.
Pelmenis.
Pelmenis.
Pelmenis
always filled with meat.
It's one of the head dishes
of our restaurant.
Okay.
Chopped pork, chopped beef...
Beef.
Onions, garlic,
black pepper, salt.
We leave this to marinate.
We are ready
to prepare the dough.
So it's making
a traditional dough --
a little flour, a little egg
in the middle, a little salt.
Not too much water.
Mix it in.
How much kneading?
Five minutes.
And then how long
do we let it rest?
For a half hour.
And then, we roll it out?
Yeah.
How many of these has she made
in her lifetime?
[ Speaks Russian ]
Forty thousand.
She didn't say 40,000.
You can Google it.
And then we fill it
with the meat
that we already
have marinated.
Oh-ho, wait a second!
Right there, what you have
is a little Russian tortellini.
Forty thousand and four.
I'll keep you guys up to date.
My mother used
to tell me that --
Excuse me, 40,005.
40,005 have been made.
Go ahead.
They used to prepare it
in the summer
and put it in barrels
and keep it in the winter,
keep 'em frozen.
She has now made --
Wait for it.
We're gonna call
in for the total data board.
Yes. It's in.
40,015
of these things
that I can't pronounce.
Pelmenis.
Pelmenis.
Now we're gonna boil 'em
in a seasoned water
of laurel leaf, pepper and salt.
Yeah.
For 2 or 3 minutes.
Now we're going to toss
some butter, some dill.
That is very difficult
to get here.
Green onions, sour cream.
Okay.
Oh-ho-ho, this looks good.
Outrageous.
It's so good.
I'm not talkin' kind of good.
I'm not kiddin' you.
I have to take a picture.
Look at that.
I gotta send this home
to my friends.
I'm gonna bring
in the true taste-tester
of "Triple D," my wife Lori.
Tell me that's not ridiculous.
It's delicious.
Fantastic.
Always a fan of sour cream,
and the fresh herbs
are super nice.
As good as it would be
if you have it in Russia.
Amazing. I just come here
for this every time.
I think my favorite thing,
actually, about the restaurant
is the view
that you see outside.
This is the face of Havana.
What's it called?
Malecón. It means
"the ocean boulevard."
When you come here
as a tourist,
you gotta make a cruise
down this road.
[ Playing jazz ]
The music, the drawings,
the people,
the beach, it's great.
Russia doesn't have a beachfront
like that, does it?
No, it doesn't.
But it does have
a menu like this.
Cutlet a la Kiev.
Have you had
chicken Kiev before?
I'm sorry. I don't wanna talk
in the middle of your moment.
I'll be right here.
They were delicious.
What is next?
We're going to start
with preparing
the aromatized butter,
dill, parsley.
[ Speaks Russian ]
The lime juice.
Salt, lime shells.
The zest,
the skin of the lime.
Yeah.
Where is this gonna go?
It's going inside
of the meat.
We freeze it
so it doesn't melt.
And then we're gonna make
the chicken?
Yeah.
Okay.
Mix ground chicken
with onions, garlic,
black pepper, salt.
Put inside the butter.
I don't think I've ever
seen anything get stuffed
with just its own
big log of butter.
[ Laughs ]
Put it into flour.
And then, we pass it
through the egg.
Now in the breadcrumbs?
Two times,
you have to bread it.
Okay.
So the butter
doesn't come out.
Okay. So now, we're gonna fry it
in the oil?
Yeah.
Until it turns brown
and then go to the oven
and finish cooking.
What do we serve this with?
Mashed potatoes.
Okay.
And that's it.
No sauce, just...
No sauce, the sauce is inside.
Sauce is inside.
Oh-ho! Yahtzee!
Look at that.
I've had chicken Kiev.
I've never seen it
do that, dude.
Mmm, nice and juicy.
That's crazy.
Wow!
This just has flavor
all the way through it.
The key -- the dill.
Oh, man.
[ Speaks Russian ]
She said
it is very tasty.
Oh, I thought she said
I'm handsome.
No, no, no. This show
is about the chicken Kiev.
Oh, it is.
Sure, sure.
[ Laughs ]
Where'd this guy come from?
Very succulent.
I like the outer crust.
It's the herbs,
the mixture of flavors.
-[ Speaks Russian ]
[ Bell dings ]
You fall in love with the food,
and you keep coming.
You tell me when you wanna open
one of these in California.
[ Laughs ]
You're awesome, Gregory.
Up next...
Okay.
...a funky, open-air spot
behind a car wash...
El loco!
...firin' up rock-star ribs...
Delicious.
...and dishin' out
a Cuban classic.
♪ Da-da, da-da, da-da! ♪
♪
All right, so for my final stop
on this awesome
Havana, Cuba, tour,
I'm in downtown Havana,
over by what used to be
called the "Havana Hilton."
Now, this is a little bit
different.
You see, they rented out
the front yard.
Well, they got a car wash there.
And then they rented
out the back yard and, well,
it's this funky joint
all the locals go to.
This is Fonda La Paila.
Every time I come to Cuba,
I make sure I come here.
We've been to several
restaurants around Havana.
This is fantastic.
A wonderful place,
one of my favorites.
What type of restaurant is this?
Fonda is the food
coming out very fast.
[ Bell dings ]
Yeah, you come, eat, go.
FIERI: With Chef Ugo Chigon
manning the grill
and waiter Rodney Lugo servin'
up meaty Cuban favorites.
You have ribs now.
This sauce is absolutely
wonderful, marvelous.
-How do you say, again, "ribs?"
-Costilla.
-Costilla.
-Ay!
Costilla. Ay!
[ Laughs ]
The barbecue sauce for the ribs.
Yeah.
A little oil...
Okay.
Soy sauce.
You say it just like a gringo.
"Soy sauce!"
Do you use it a lot
in Cuban food?
Sí.
Comino, paprika, honey...
How do you say this in Spanish?
-Miel.
-Miel. I knew that.
Vinagre. Okay.
-Very good sauce.
-Thank you.
Okay. Now we're gonna make
the marinade.
Marinade.
Marinade.
Sí, marinade.
Okay.
Uh... [ Speaks Spanish ]
Es una naranja agria.
Yeah. That's a --
Sour orange. Yeah.
Ay!
[ Laughs ]
[ Speaks Spanish ]
Okay. Dry white wine.
[ Laughter ]
Okay.
Chiles...
Comino, doctor.
Sí.
Bay leaf, doctor.
How long is this going
to marinate?
[ Repeats in Spanish ]
And then, they sear the meat
into the fire.
Then, to the grill.
More slow.
Salsa?
In the grill, the sauce.
And then...
[ Speaking Spanish ]
Before -- before they
serve the meat,
they -- they sauce the meat.
Poquito mas.
Yeah.
Two times the sauce.
Two times. Okay.
This is one order?
Yeah.
Yeah.
[ Laughs ]
The ribs are tender.
The sauce...
delicious.
It tastes like a sauce
you would expect in Cuba.
You taste the orange.
You taste the sweet.
It has a lot
of the island flavor.
Delicious.
Thank you.
Very talented.
[ Bell dings ]
Nice, juicy, sticky.
Lots of flavor, very tender.
It's what sauce
on pork ribs is meant to be.
It's a nice, easy,
relaxed feel,
especially in the middle
of the day.
FIERI: The perfect setting
for this island staple...
Tostones.
FIERI: ...lamb cooked
in a scratch-made marinade
and stuffed in a fried plantain.
All right, so...
Chile.
Chiles.
-Cebollas, ajo...
-Garlic.
-The bay leaf.
-And...
-Romero.
-Rosemary?
-Rosemary. Yeah.
-Okay.
-Uh, comino.
-Comino. Okay.
Red wine, a dry wine.
-Boil rapido?
-Uh-huh.
And now we're gonna
sear the leg of lamb.
A little oil.
-Fifteen minutes?
-Sí.
And so the lamb is gonna go
in this and cook?
Yeah.
How long?
So, the lamb is ready, listo?
Yeah. Yeah. It's ready.
Hot oil, the chiles?
Uh-huh. Onions, garlic...
The carne?
-Lamb.
-Smells good.
A little of the, uh,
dry white wine?
-Tomate.
-Tomato sauce.
Tomato sauce? Sí?
Bay leaf...
Rosemary...
Rosemary? Okay.
Yeah.
Ground oregano,
the comino,
and the sal, sí?
This is all gonna go
on a plantain, a tostone?
Yeah.
So these are plantains
that have been cooked.
So now they're nice and soft.
We make a hole...
Right.
...in the --
in the tostone.
Right.
[ Laughing ]
There you have the hole!
So we make these.
Now, to the aceite.
BOTH: Yeah.
♪ Da-da, da-da, da-da! ♪
[ Laughter ]
You grab it
and push the meat...
Inside...
...inside it.
Now, the cheese.
This is traditional Cuban?
Yeah.
Okay. Now, to the oven?
-Yeah.
-Okay.
Uh, 4 minutes.
Four --
Four minutes.
Señor Inglés.
Yeah.
"Four minutes."
[ Laughter ]
Ketchup.
Ketchup. Ketchup?
Yeah. That's like, uh...
Like, gringo ketchup?
Yeah. Very pretty.
El loco!
Ay, el loco.
It's good?
Fantastic.
The lamb...
is what makes
the whole thing.
All the spices goin' on there,
the nice, crunchy shell
of the tostone --
delicious.
♪
Really nice and crunchy
and textural.
I wish
there would be more fondas
like La Paila in all Cuba.
This is the kind of place
that a lot of tourists wanna
find because this is authentic.
Nice job, Chef.
Okay.
Gracias.
Yeah.
Well, I guess we can check
Havana, Cuba,
off the bucket list,
but don't worry.
There's "Triple D" joints
all over this world.
I'll be lookin' for you
next time
on "Diners, Drive-ins
and Dives."
This is like a big
outdoor fiesta.
Ay, ay, we are party mans.
You are party mans?
Yeah.
I'm a party man, too.
Tres party mans!
Yeah. [ Laughs ]