Hooray for a new restaurant at American Tobacco! I was fortunate enough to get invited to the Tuesday night opening party at Cuban Revolution, and though they just had a what I would describe as a sneak peek of their food, I was definitely intrigued. Much of the food was standard finger food – cheese, fruit, and veggies – but there were two vegetarian items that were clearly from the menu: a tomato and cheese sandwich, and a little bitty wrap with maduros (fried plantains), rice, tomatoes, and cheese. Based on this, I was hoping that the full menu would be vegetarian-friendly. After going there today for lunch, I can tell you that it surely is.
Maduros Vegan-Sushi Rolls - not actually vegan. Or sushi. But still very tasty.
The most interesting food on the menu comes in the form of tapas. There is fried cassava with garlic dip, roasted red peppers with feta and olive oil, pepperdews stuffed with goat cheese, two types of empanadas (spinach/cheese and portabello/cheese), black beans and rice, and sweet potato fries. One particularly delicious-sounding offering is fried green beans with remoulade dip.
Additionally, there are several sandwiches made with Cuban bread available: tomato and cheese, and hot peppers and cheese. (These come with the usual condiments and add-ons.) The maduros wrap is what I had for lunch today, and was a more expanded version of what I tasted last night. The plantains were yummy, though I wished there had been some kind of sauce for the wrap. They also serve a Gardenburger.
I must report that there are some inconsistencies printed on the menu surrounding vegetarian and vegan items. The most glaring is that the maduros vegan sushi wrap mentioned earlier is not, in fact, vegan since it contains cheese. At least the fact that it contains cheese is clearly printed on the menu. The Gardenburger is listed as being vegan as well. Since there are multiple varieties of Gardenburger, it may well be that the one they serve is vegan. If this is a concern of yours, though, I would suggest verifying it before ordering. The chicken quesadilla being marked as vegetarian is just laughable. I spoke with one of the owners about this issues (as well as the others), and he said that on previous menu versions, it was simply a quesadilla and it was accidentally left as vegetarian when the name (and ingredients) changed. It is, of course available without chicken. He also confirmed that the Caesar salad, marked as vegetarian, does NOT contain anchovies in its dressing.
All in all, Cuban Revolution is a welcome addition to American Tobacco and to Durham, and I look forward to going back there again soon!
Jim
/ July 2, 2009I hate to be a party pooper, but I think it’s worth pointing out that members of the local Cuban community aren’t very happy about the theming of this place. As my sysadmin is Cuban I won’t be going; a shame, since it sounds yummy.
Ryn
/ July 3, 2009Sure, there is absolutely that aspect to it. Do I think that a menu is an appropriate place for political comments? Not really. You can see more comments about this issue here and here.
Milano
/ July 12, 2009just curious… what is an “appropriate place” for political comments?
Milano
/ July 12, 2009Seems like the owners are getting exactly the kind of response they intended and are forcing a ton of political conversation over the name, the menu, and the food (how ironic). I have been there twice (i work on campus) and have to say, it’s a great new place for all of us to enjoy (plan your visits tho, they are packed at lunch and dinner and the wait time to get a seat or to get your food is a little slow, but nothing like the old Symposium they replaced!) Best menu pick: Cheese and pepper sandwich imo.
ProvRes
/ November 1, 2009I worked in the Providence restaurant, the Morabitos are a joke. The food is frozen Goya food that they take out of a box in the back, the “hot sauce” is Frank’s Red Hot that they pour into a new container in the back. They used to make food in the restaurant but they felt that in order to open this place they fired all of their cooks and just bought everything pre-made from a foodservice distributor or Wal-Mart. Just a heads up, there is a reason the two restaurants are failing, the food is terrible and the owners are terrible people, its hard to find someone in the industry who hasn’t either had a bad experience with the Morabitos or knows people who have. I truly feel sorry for Durham.
The Gourmez
/ November 3, 2009Just letting you know I linked over here from my review today. I’m horrible at figuring out trackbacks! Overall, I liked more than I didn’t.
Ryn
/ January 19, 2010Thanks! I’ve really only been back to Cuban Revolution a couple of times, which surprises me a little since it’s literally just outside my office. I think I’ve convinced myself that it’s too expensive… like the Symposium before it!