Habana, Always Good

Today we had a leisurely lunch at Habana. It's not in our neck of the woods, but it's always good, so worth the drive. Plus, driving through Austin is never boring. 

I started with a cucumber margarita, as gloriously refreshing as it sounds.

Our appetizer of choice is always mariquitas, thinly-sliced fried plantains served with tangy green dipping sauce.

I had quimbombo, a veggie stew loaded with okra. Heaven. For a restaurant that serves mainly heavy meat dishes, Habana does vegetarian amazingly well. On the side, black beans, and rice with pigeon peas.

Our sweet server felt that we had to wait too long for our food (not that we complained or really even noticed; we were just hanging out), so when we'd finished eating, he brought out a huge, complimentary slice of tres leches cake for us to share. Nice! It's one of the best tres leches cakes I've had in Austin, heavy on the cinnamon.

Olivia considered it all brain food. When we returned home, she was ready for some serious checker playing.

Serious concentration.

Snow Day

Last weekend, we attended the re-opening of the newly renovated downtown YMCA. The big draw was...10 tons of snow! I have no idea where they got it from, and it was partially melted by the time we arrived, but there was still plenty left for a good, old-fashioned snowball fight!

 

 

 

Well, Olivia didn't really want anything to do with the snow. She doesn't remember it from when we lived in New York. She was just a baby. But Jackson has fond memories of playing in the snow. He also remembered how to pack a snowball!

 

There was also an inflatable mountain for the kids to climb...

 

 

And a snow slide!

 

After the kids wore themselves out (and changed into warm, non-soggy socks and shoes), we headed to Habana for lunch. We started with the mariquitas, thinly sliced, fried plantains that come with a meat-based mojo sauce, but you can ask for the vegan chimichurri sauce. And then ask for refills, because you will understand that the plantains simply serve as a conduit to get as much delicious chimichurri sauce into your mouth as possible.

I had quimbombo, an okra stew with bell peppers and onions. It comes with sides of seasoned rice with pigeon peas, and beans. (The beans had pork in them, but they were for Tony, since I don't eat beans.)  The stew is phenomenal. I mix it up with the rice, the rice absorbs all the extra juices, and it's all so, so amazing. I've done a little digging around online for a recipe, and this one looks so simple, I may have to give it a shot.

 

 

Habana

Today we had lunch at a Cuban place in South Austin called Habana. One of the best things about Habana is the little cabana huts that dot the front lawn of the restaurant. If you can snag a free cabana, do it. It's fun to eat in your own private little hut. If you can ignore the traffic zooming by on South Congress, you may be able to imagine yourself dining in a tropical island paradise.

Another best thing about Habana is the drinks. "Mojitos?" asks the nice lady in the mural. Yes, please.

Summer = mojitos. Always.

And the final best thing about Habana would be the food. We started with mariquitas -- thinly sliced fried plantain chips. They are typically served with a meat-based sauce (the red sauce you see below) but you can request a vegetarian sauce and they will bring out a garlicky, citrusy, completely addictive green mojo sauce.

I ordered the Vegetariano Salteado -- "red and green bell peppers, onions, broccoli florets, cauliflower, zucchini, carrots and Cuban spices sauteed with dry wine and fresh garlic." The vegetables were highly seasoned and cooked to perfection, with some bite still left to them. 

And this isn't the only vegetarian dish on Habana's menu. There's a version of the Salteado made with tofu, and there's also Quimbobo, an okra stew that I'm dying to try.  I have nothing but praise for a restaurant that specializes in meat-heavy ethnic cuisine, yet makes such a lovely effort to please their vegetarian/vegan guests.