Habana Grill

So my Saturday morning started off with a bang. Literally, the banging inside my head after a night of Grand Marnier laced Margaritas. (This time it is no more Tequila for good!) A nice walk in the chilly gloominess and a cold shower chased out the cobwebs, so I confirmed plans for a “roadtrip” up to Longwood for lunch and a fieldtrip to Petty’s gourmet market.


So here is the real formula for a hangover. Yeah, yeah, yeah, water and time also do the trick, but this one is much more fun. We went to Habana Grill (formally Don Pepes) up in Altamonte. For starters we got the Lil’ Introduction, a small sample platter of appetizers. Our definite favorite was the Chicken Empanadillas, a crusty pastry stuffed with Sofrito flavored chicken. The pastry crumbled in my mouth and the house Cali sauce was sweet and tangy perfect. The Papitas Rellenas were amazing. Fried mashed potato balls stuffed with ground beef. Enough said. The last selection, the Chicharrones de Pollo (think fancy chicken nuggets) was dry and a disappointment, but the other two selections really made up for it.


I then got the Media Noche sandwich to assist with the hangover transformation. Served on sweet egg Cuban bread, it was stuffed with pork, ham, salami, Swiss cheese and pickles (and yes, it probably was the source of my heartburn a few hour later). But at the time, and with the Mariquita chips, it was pretty much the best thing in the world. And, quite honestly, along with two fantastic and not too sweet Mojitos, it really did the trick to making my hangover go into oblivion. I only finished half, and it was still good the next day for lunch.

My luncheon companion got the Vege-Frita and cheese sub. It was pretty much the veggie version of my sandwich, served on the same bread but also topped with the irresistible tiny shoestring French fries.

Petty’s was a success as usual. I stocked up on some hard to find items (including my new favorite Fig flavored Balsamic Glaze) and also grabbed a nice Filet that I made for dinner. All in all, not a bad day!

www.donpepes.com

I headed over to the folks place on Sunday for an early evening of football and bar-be-que. The Backwater takeout went surprisingly well with the CA Zinfandel, and I enjoyed spending time with the fam. Even though I was staring at the amazing pictures on the TV pretending that I knew what was going on. But it really was the perfect end to another weekend that went by way too fast!