Holiday weekend

While my writing partner was experiencing the food and adventure of low country, we spent Labor Day weekend laboring. Not all the time, save the violins~~~but certainly, we caught up on many of the unfinished chores and projects that lurked around every corner. Yesterday it was hot and dry. One of those late summer days I love. Folks around me do not share my enthusiasm for late summer heat blasts. Our next door neighbors had a very exciting weekend. They welcomed their fifth child, a little girl, Phoebe!
As the day began to wind down, we decided to go to the bookstore for a little respite. After we left the bookstore, it seemed as if cooking might be a little more work than I needed to do on a holiday. Where to go? What is open? We found Havana Rumba open and drifted inside. This Cuban restaurant was bight, cheery and certainly bustling! Havana Rumba had a rumba singer that made me want to dance~~~~~~It is rare for me, generally speaking, to like a singer with canned music. When I hear a singer with canned music, I run like it's a bad Elvis revue show. This guy was cool and a terrific singer. He enhanced the canned music with some stunning Maraca moves.
We were seated immediately...this was a good thing because within 10 minutes, Havana Rumba was packed. Our server was knowledgeable, pretty and eager to get us started on the evening. She suggested I have a Hemingway Daiquiri, this was described as a rum, grapefruit, lime and sugarcane daiquiri. WFS ordered white wine. My drink was...hummmmmmmm. interesting. Cool and tart, not so icy... after a few sips, it had the distinct flavor of Donald Duck grapefruit juice. This wasn't entirely a BAD taste, just one I am not sure where or how I honed....
My eyes were too busy cruising the menu to be bothered much by a drink. The menu is Cuban, the real deal.... a fusion of Caribbean and Spanish foods, with an interesting twist. I decided on a a beef dish named Vaca Frita~~~~~ shredded beef with peppers, onions, garlic and lime juice, served with black beans and rice and sweet plantains. It was a hearty plate but visually very inviting. My taste buds were squealing with just one bite. This dish reminded me of all that is good about plain, solid, home style foods. No matter the origin. WFS ordered a tower of seafood, Tapeo Marino.. His dish came from the Tapas menu. The Tapeo Marino was three plates set in a stainless plate tower...The lower tier was Shrimp prepared in olive oil and garlic, tasting much like an escargot preparation...the shrimp were perfect and this dish very caliente! The middle tier was calamari, served lightly breaded and in a sweet, hot sauce. The top tier was ceviche, an icy cocktail glass was filled with shrimp in lime juice with fresh salsa. Our server brought extra warm bread for sopping up the hot liquid from the lower tier dish. This combiantion was a complete winner. We had no intention of having such a large dinner but the food was irresistible. We ate and we ate. Our bill came to $51.45, I left our server a generous tip but our time at Havana Rumba was finished. The line was back out the door, time to relinquish our table.