Picadillo with Congri rice and boiled yucca @ Havana’s Pilon

Photo Aug 10, 4 14 17 PM

I have a bad tendency to find one dish I like at a restaurant and stick to it. I could eat the ropa vieja, the Cuban shredded beef, at Havana’s Pilon forever. Seriously, if I were on death row I might very well request it as my last meal. And for my third visit to Havana’s Pilon yesterday, I would have had it again if not for my friend Bob. He ate there Monday and told me “the ground beef dish is excellent.” Bob and I have similar tastes in food, so I decided to take his recommendation. I got Congri rice and boiled yucca as my sides.

Bob was correct. The ground beef dish, known as the picacillo, is excellent. The meat and veggies play perfectly with one another, and while it has some spice to it, it’s not melt-your-stomach spicy. Havana’s Pilon’s meals are probably your only chance to get a green olive Downtown outside of a martini or a Bloody Mary. And the sides… I could eat that Congri rice all day. I can’t even describe the consistency of the boiled yucca other than to say if you’re a fan of mashed potatoes, you must try it. Ten times better than mashed potatoes. I remember driving back to Memphis from San Diego and seeing those stupid plants all over the side of the road. They look like retarded palm trees. I had no idea they tasted so good.

I move into a place Downtown and a few years later, I find I have Bardog, Raiford’s, the Brass Door, the Mad Earl, and now a fantastic Cuban restaurant all within a one block walk. Am I the luckiest guy in the world or what? If you don’t live Downtown, Havana’s Pilon is worth the drive down here. Come check it out!