Diners, Drive-ins and Dives (2006–…): Season 24, Episode 12 - Havana Hot Spots - full transcript

I'm Guy Fieri, and we're
rolling out in Havana, Cuba,

looking for
the world's greatest diners,

drive-ins, and dives.

♪

Yep, that's right.

We're hitting
all the Havana hotspots...

The wheels are off the wagon
in Havana.

...and the fiesta's just
getting started...

iGracias!
iBuenas noches!

...as we dig into the city's
killer Cuban cuisine.

I don't want to eat it fast,



because I don't
want it to go away.

From goat stew...

It's delicious.

...to fresh catch...

Beautiful.
...house cured lamb...

That's the best thing
I've had since I've been here.

...to pork and plantains...

Fufu plantains?

...and even
Chinese fried rice?

Come on down.
It's international day.

So bring your appetite...

Two pounds of meat
in here already.

...for a feast that's muy bueno.

Buenos días,
welcome to Cuba.



That's all right
here, right now,

on a special edition
of "Triple D" in Havana.

♪

You got to love it.
"Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives"

in Havana, Cuba.

I mean, this place
is filled with history.

Now right there
across the street, well,

that's the Presidential Palace.

That's where Castro
gave a bunch of speeches,

that's where Batista
took off from,

and now, well, it's
the Museum of the Revolution.

Here's the great news --

Right across the street
a real-deal Cuban joint

you got to check out --
This is Al Carbón.

Woman: This restaurant,
it is beautiful,

so wonderfully decorated.

A little bit of everything that
bridges the old and the new.

-The fish of the day.
-Real Cuban food --

One of the best
all around the city.

Fieri: And in the city
where the restaurant

scene is exploding,

chef and owner Ivan Rodriguez,

he leads the way.

-One fish.
-Here, he and his staff

bring a rocking vibe
to wood fired cuisine.

Woman: Not too many restaurant
have a barbecue.

Not just a barbecue,
but a barbecue indoors.

Yeah. The people enjoy
to sit in the bar here.

And see --
The cooking show.

The cooking show.

It is a cooking show.

-He's the maestro.
-Yeah.

-He's a tiger.
-He's a tiger.

Rawr!

It's amazing so far.

I think it's exceeded
our expectations.

It's been fantastic.
I tried the lamb.

It was great.

Asada cordero.

I did try the lamb,
even though I'm a pescatarian.

I broke my own rules
so I could taste it,

and I'm so glad that I did.

-Tasajo.
-Tasajo.

Okay.

-What does it mean?
-Lamb, dry meat.

-With salt?
-With salt!

He make a cut in order
to the salt --

So it can get inside.

Lamb ribs.

-Okay, so salt.
-Mucha sal.

When he cooks, it's not work.
Look at him -- Big smile.

It's pleasure.

Tri-color -- Tres color.

It's very important
that it's very, very salty.

-Everything.
-Today -- In this salt.

It sits in here for two days.
So, dos días.

You can see where it turns
a little bit red,

so it's pulling out
some of the moisture.

I mean, this is the best
old-school method

of preservation.

He hits with some more salt.

Is this...?

[ All conversing in Spanish ]

Yeah, yeah. Huh?

Ay!

All right.
How long does it stay there?

21 days.

21 days. Okay.

Now we are going
to prepare the lamb tasajo.

-You got it, or...?
-Ah, yeah.

-Yeah?
-Come on!

[ Chuckles ]

Ay!

So, soak it for two, and then
45 minutes in the hot water...

-Yeah.
-...so it's rehydrated.

We shred it.

That's our shredded lamb ribs.

There's not gonna be any flavor
in this whatsoever.

Crazy. All right, Chef.

-Primero, aceite.
-A little oil.

-Onions.
-Onions.

-Garlic.
-Green bell pepper.

Tomate and pepper.

Yes.

Hey, hey, hey!

-Black pepper.
-Okay.

-Naranja.
-That's a sour orange,

not just regular orange.

-Jugo de tomate.
-Tomato juice.

-Hey, here Capitán.
-Thank you.

-All right, you ready?
-Thank you.

Round 2.

Barbecue sauce.

Fieri: Roasted vegetables
coming off of the grill.

-Sweet potato.
-Sweet potato? [ Chuckles ]

-Finished.
-Fantastic.

Outrageous.

I don't want to eat it too fast,

because I don't want
it to go away.

Amazing richness of the lamb.

Ooh, it's got
that shredded characteristic.

And on the sweet potato is
the only way you could have it.

That's the best thing
I've had since I've been here.

When you get
off the plane in Cuba,

they should just have this
for you just like this.

Buenos días!
Welcome to Cuba.

Man: The tasajo.

The texture was really complex
and had a lot of depth to it.

It wasn't too salty, and I
really enjoyed the bell peppers.

That gave it, like,
an extra little kick.

There is no way
that I'm coming to Cuba

without bringing my mom and dad.

The sweet potato with it --

That took it right on
up there, you know.

-Tell me that's not the best.
-Yeah.

I love it.

Yeah, we'll do this
at home.

Oh, we'll do this
all day long.

We do a lot of grilling,
fresh flavors.

Which is basically
the mantra here --

fresh from land and sea.

-Fish.
-The fish is wonderful.

You know how much
I love fish.

And you serve the whole fish,
and you know it's so fresh.

It's delicious.

So, what is this dish called?

[ Speaking Spanish ]

"Fish of the day."
Red snapper.

This is a very popular fish
in Cuba?

Sí. Muy popular.

[ Speaking Spanish ]

Chimichurri sauce.

Chimichurri sauce, okay.

It's a platillo
de la casa.

The house chimichurri.

It's an onion.

Cebolla.

Garlic.

Red pepper.

Rrrrred pepper!

And green pepper.

-Tomate.
-Tomate.

Lot of parsley in Cuban food.
Sal?

-Sal.
-Black pepper.

-Fresh?
-Yeah.

-Aceite.
-Oil.

-Vinagre balsámico.
-Balsamic vinegar in Cuba?

-Yes.
-Oh, okay.

Woman: It's ready.

Today, the fish --
[Speaks Spanish]

Last night they caught it?

Cutting through it will really
allow the flavor to penetrate

all the way into the fish.

-Poco de sal.
-Salt.

Olive oil.

-Lemon.
-Okay.

What else do we serve
with the dish?

-Tortilla.
-Tortilla?

-In Havana?
-Yes.

It's a cross
between a flour tortilla,

a corn tortilla, and a cracker.

Egg plant, pepper...

Beautiful.

That bueno?

-Fantastic.
-Gracias.

The natural salt in the fish

is complemented
with the chimichurri.

Not all chimichurri's the same.

It tastes like the cross
between chimichurri

and pico de gallo.

Simple, fresh, local...

Fantastic.

-Fish.
-It's really moist.

It's not overcooked,

and it's a good complement
with the vegetables, as well.

Definitely super fresh.
I love the chimichurri.

It you want to show
foreigners

what Cuban food is,

this is definitely the place.

Fieri: When you cook on
the grill, the true flavors

will come out.
It's delicious.

This guy gets it going.
All right.

Let's eat the entire menu.

Coming up...
If you want to get

a real-deal Cuban experience --
right here.

...a true neighborhood spot...

Everybody's welcome.

...where the dinner bell's
ringing...

...and the chef is singing.

-♪ Chilindrón de chivo ♪
-♪ Chilindrón de chivo ♪

♪

So, I'm here in the El Vedado
region of Havana.

It's kind of
like the new downtown area,

and I'm here
to check out a joint

where this guy is really
preaching about the food.

[ Speaking Spanish ]

And I mean, preach it.

He's preaching about
how food should be great,

and this is the place to get it.

So the name is fitting.

This is La Catedral.

That's right.

[ Speaking Spanish ]

Best place
in the whole city.

-Garbanzo fritos.
-I love it here.

I've been here pretty week
since I've been in Cuba.

[ Speaking Spanish ]

Man: I was walking here,
and I saw the line,

and I thought, "Hey,
where there is a line

there must be good food."

Fieri: And they're coming to see
the resident minister

of flavor,
owner Diego Hernandez.

Though it used to be
a different place all together.

This was your mother's house?

Yes.
It was my mother's house.

But he converted it to a holy
house of culinary worship,

and he's been packing
in the masses

since he opened in 2013.

I feel like I come from my home
to this home.

What ever I get
is absolutely perfect.

Man: Chilindrón de chivo.

Fieri:
That's Chilindrón de chivo,

translated to
"Big chili of goat"

or "Big ol' goat stew."

The goat stew is delicious.

All right.
What are we gonna make?

Chilindrón de chivo.

Did you sing that?
Canta?

-♪ Chilindrón de chivo ♪
-♪ Chilindrón de chivo ♪

♪ Ay, chivo ♪

[ Laughter ]

-So, this is goat?
-This is goat.

First, we'll cut
and let it marinate.

In what?

Red wine,

black pepper, salt,
garlic,

bay leaf, and white pepper.

How long is this going
to marinate?

-12 hours.
-12 hours.

-In the oven?
-30 minutes.

-Maybe 45.
-Convection oven. Super hot.

Let's make it.

Let's go.

The oil.
This is from Spain.

[ Whistles ]

Green and red peppers.

[ Speaking Spanish ]

Onions.

And we put the cooked goat.

Now we're gonna braise it.

-And mix.
-Okay.

Tomatoes. Ohh! Loco!

Tomato sauce.

♪

Ladies and gentlemen,
all my "Triple D" friends,

I want you to look --

Is this not
the Cuban Reno from Hawaii?

Take a look.

Huh?
Did I tell you?

This is got to be
Reno's long-lost brother.

-Okay, vino rosso?
-Wine.

30 minutes.

Then we eat it.

-Yeah.
-With what?

White rice.
Malanga.

The malanga is like yuca, kind
of like a boiled root.

[ Speaks Spanish ]

Vinegar with onion.

Mmm. It's good.

And this stuff.

All right.

It's delicious --

Rich, tender,
but not too tender.

The flavor's great,

the nice, light white rice,

the malanga with the onions.

That makes it perfect,

'cause it's sweet,
it's starchy.

Can I feed you, please?

[ Laughter ]

The wheels are off the wagon
in Havana.

Off a little.

So what? Sorry.

Man:
Chilindrón de chivo.

The flavor is great,

and the way this cooked
is very nice.

The meat gets really juicy.

Take a bite of the goat,
and tell me what you think.

Your face said everything.

[ Speaking Spanish ]

The Catedral
is a very unique place.

I love that it's one
of these old, nice homes.

The space is beautifully done.

It's not only foreigners
or tourists that come here.

There are a lot
of Cuban families.

They can eat a really nice meal
for a reasonable price.

Every day at 4:00,
they have a bell.

It means, "Okay, let's go
and have some drinks

and something to eat."

What else?

-Now?
-Yeah.

A beer.
I need a beer.

No, not a beer.
What are we gonna cook?

[ Laughter ]

Arroz frito de Canton.

De Canton?

-Cantonese.
-Cantonese.

We're gonna make
Chinese food?

Chinese food.
[ Laughs ]

Come on down.
It's international day.

Arroz fritooooooo!

It's not a traditional
Cuban dish,

but you find it a lot.

Fieri: And you can find it here
when we come back.

There's a few things
that I thought I would try

when I came to Cuba.
Not Chinese food.

♪

Welcome back to "Triple D"
in Havana, Cuba.

Hanging out with my buddy Diego
over here from The Catedral.

Now this was
his mom's house,

then he turned it
into a restaurant.

They have Cuban food

with the right selection
of international food.

In Cuba,
the food we have,

it's a mix of different
cultures, Spanish, Afro,

even French
and the Chinese culture.

Fieri: Which means you can get
dishes like this...

Man: Arroz frito.

...AKA fried rice.

It's a mix of white rice,
pork, shrimp, chicken, and ham.

It's really lovely.

Arroz frito.

Arroz frito.
Fried rice.

-Yeah.
-Let's go.

Oil on the wok.

The pork, chicken,
and a little of soy sauce.

Okay.

Mushroom soy. Wow.

We put ham...

Two pounds of meat
in here already.

And the shrimp,
a little onion,

green onions,

the white rice.

Mushroom soy sauce?

Yeah.

[ Laughter ]

Bean sprout?

Ham, egg, green onion?

Okay.

Put the rice in the bowl

and serve on the dish.

Magic man.

Green onions.

There's a few things

that I thought I would try
when I came to Cuba.

Not Chinese food.

That's really good
fried rice.

Little different,
but the principles are there.

There's great texture,
nice vegetables in there,

you cook it the right way.

You use great ingredients --

Tender rice,

the mushroom soy's
a great call.

You know, I wouldn't have come
in here and said,

"Fried rice in Havana
sounds like I want."

But, see,
this is what happens

is you never know
what to expect.

Man: Arroz frito.

-Delicious.
-It's very good.

It's very nice.

Fieri:
Is this a Cuban restaurant,

an American restaurant,
what type of restaurant?

[ Speaking Spanish ]

So international Catedral.

Yes.

Everybody's welcome.

It's for the people,
for the neighborhood,

for the families.

Highly recommend it.

This place is legit, man.

Gracias, chef.
Gracias.

Fieri: Up next, a homey spot
where a good cigar...

Thank you.

...plus a great meal...

Oh, there we go!

...equals an unforgettable
experience.

Come on.
there you go, Pow! Pow!

♪

So, when "Triple D"
visits an iconic city,

the first thing I do
is look for the godfathers.

Let's say you're
in New York City.

I'll call up Roberto
at Don Antonio's.

If I'm in Hawaii, well,
I'll call Reno at Fresh Catch.

So when I come here
to Havana, Cuba,

and I am looking
for the real deal,

I hear there's a guy
that's a cigar aficionado

and he's got a restaurant?

You know I've got
to check it out.

This is Casa Abel.

[ Speaking Spanish ]

It's very, very good,
very nice.

[ Speaking Spanish ]

[ Speaking Spanish ]

The food is --
It's wonderful.

The joint that locals are loving

is a place close
to owner Abel's heart.

[ Speaking Spanish ]

It's a restaurant,
my family house.

Fieri: And they're serving up
their own house specialities.

That'd be beer-can chicken
and a rum marinade

prepared by
Chef Juvenal Gonzales.

It's very good.

All right, Chef. What is
the dish we're going to make?

Pollo Casa Abel.

"The Abel House Chicken"?

Let's go.

This is the marinade.

-Salt.
-Sal, sí.

White pepper, sugar.

-Okay.
-Comino.

-Comino, oregano?
-Oregano.

-Laurel.

Of all the things
I learned about Cuban cooking,

this is got to be it --

The bay leaf
is almost in everything.

Garlic, onion, cilantro.

Cilantro. Parsley.

Basil. Rum.

For here or for...?

No.

Okay.

Vinegar, white wine.

White wine?
Seco.

Vino seco. Sí.

Vino seco.

All the white wine
that they cook with

is a really dry white wine.

I can smell the rum.

Mm-hmm.

And now push the...

-The wing?
-The wing.

The wing.

Okay. There we go.

And how long will the chicken
be in the marinade?

-24 hours.
-24 hours.

Okay, chicken's ready.

Yeah.

-The beer...
-Okay.

...chicken here.

Now to the oven?

Ta-da!

So the chicken's cooling.
Now we're gonna make the sauce.

-Olive oil.
-Olive oil.

-Butter.
-Okay.

-Now put some onion...
-Little flour.

So, just a simple,
little pan gravy.

-Wine.
-Okay.

-Chicken stock?
-Chicken stock.

-Sugar.
-Salsa de China?

-Sí.
-Soy sauce.

I got to tell you something --
Out of all the joints

that we shot
in Havana, Cuba,

we've probably used soy sauce
50% of the time.

I'm surprised.

I mean, it's really
employed here.

-Salt and pepper...
-Okay.

The sauce is ready?

It's ready.

Now we finish the chicken
in the sauce.

Okay.

Come on.
There you go. Pow! Pow!

Thank you.

The chicken is very tender.
There's a lot of flavor in it,

but I got to be honest,

the kicker is the wine sauce
and the onions.

Is this a traditional
dish in Cuba?

No.

Only can get it here?

-Sí.
-Very nice.

Good job, Chef.

It's tasty!

Fieri: But this place isn't
known just for good food.

It's also one of the best spots
for a cigar.

Something Abel, well,
he knows a thing or two about.

And that résumé
carries into the restaurant

with the fresh local cigars
and local rum

are paired with Cuban classics.

[ Man speaking Spanish ]

Like marinated deep-fried pork
with mashed plantains.

All right, Chef.

We need pork,
salt and pepper, comino.

-Comino, okay.
-Sí.

And ajo?

How long?
Cuánto tiempo?

-20 minutes.
-20 minutes. Okay.

So this is not going
into a full boil.

We're probably
about 250 degrees,

if that, right now.

Just gonna go left --
Just go low and slow.

Now we're doing the...

-Plantains.
-...plantains.

Fufu de plátanos.

-Fufu Plantain?
-Fufu Plantain.

This is African.

African.

-Yeah.
-Yeah.

That's new.

A little --

-Oil.
-Oil.

I take a little here.

Oh, there we go.
Using some seasoned oil.

-Salt and pepper.
-Okay.

A little sugar.
Some people use orange.

The sour orange?

-Sí.
-Okay.

Now I -- How I can say?

-Yeah, "mash."
-Mash.

You're mashing it up.

Very nice.

Smells like carnitas.

-Traditional Cuba dish?
-Mm-hmm.

And we cook the pork
low temperature a long time.

Sí.

You cook it
all the way through

and make it nice
and tender,

and then it browns a little bit
on the outside.

That's right.

I like the plantain
with the lime and the ajo.

It complements it well.

Nice job, Chef.
Thank you.

[ Both conversing in Spanish ]

This is beautiful.
Thank you, sir.

-Un placer.
-Mucho gusto.

Well, you can check Havana,
Cuba, off the bucket list.

But don't worry --
There's "Triple D" joints

all over this world!

I'll be looking for you
next time

on "Diners, Drive-Ins,
and Dives."

-De chivo.
-De chivo. Okay.

-You know what is a chivo?
-Yeah, I know chivo.

[ Bleats ]

-Yeah.
-Yeah.

Let me hear it.
Escuche.

[ Bleating ]

[ Laughter ]

iGracias y buenas noches!