Cantina
Batista-era Cuba aging gracefully on Avenue B.
By Ethan Wolff
October 23, 2007
By Ethan Wolff
Pork shoulder with dulce de leche. It just sounds wrong. A South American dessert in a mashup with the other white meat? I couldn’t stop eating it, though. The sauce feints sweet and then beelines to savory. In the background, chilies gradually rise to give a subtle kick. A little added cilantro, and you’ve found the meat’s perfect, if unexpected, complement. At Cantina, a hopping Nuevo Cuban spot on Avenue B, sleights like this abound.
Consulting chef Jason Neroni is to be trusted. That he’s half-Cuban, with a lauded stint at 71 Clinton, no doubt helps. Despite the trendy address, this is not obsequious cooking. A radicchio salad with manchego is both bitter and salty. It’s another dish I couldn’t stop eating. Oxtail brings it rich, with yucca, mint, and dates as accompaniment. Pork croquettes rest on a mojo picon bed, the sauce garlicky with a great nutty texture. Sheep’s milk cheese draped in piquillo peppers carries shades of Spain. Come dessert, it’s coconut flan, with Kahlua to cut across the creaminess. Although creative, the dishes are low on pretense. The approach is homey, with recipes cribbed from Neroni’s grandma.
Another Jason, Jason Volenec, picks up that homey effect in the décor. (A third Jason, promoter Jason Swamy, owns the place.) There are mismatched dishes, mismatched tables, mismatched chairs. The vibe is more rhythmic than upbeat. Candles illuminate Old Cuba-style gentle decay. A grandma’s house element sneaks in, too, with vintage b&w’s and obsolete stereo equipment. The level of detail is on par with a Wes Anderson flick. As shot by Mikhail Kalatozov.
Crush will be handling the wine. The list will be annotated, so those short on experience won’t feel over their heads. Do these guys know their demographic or what? The other night we downed a bottle of Jigsaw, an Oregon pinot. It was unobtrusive at first, but as the berry and spice tones crept out it became more and more compelling.
Cantina turns a similar trick. There’s no impression that it’s trying too hard. Like that pork shoulder with dulce de leche, it’s a lot more subtle than you might expect.
QUICK BITES
Cuisine: Nuevo Cuban
Vibe: Old Havana, simultaneously homey and chic
Occasion: Date night to take your mind off recent colonial misadventures
Damage: $75 for a three-course meal for two with one drink each, including tax and tip
Reservations: Not accepted
Not to Be Missed: Pork shoulder with dulce de leche, $15
29 Ave. B (2nd and 3rd Sts.) cantinanyc.com 212-228-0599 East Village
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