Cuban Come Up: La Cubana presents punctual pallets reminiscent of island living
Photo Courtesy of La Cubana
As the food scene in Kansas City continues to grow, it can be difficult to find a nationality or style of cuisine that isn’t reflected somewhere in town. About five years ago, Mireya and Lester Ruiz noticed there was nowhere to order Cuban food, despite an abundance of other Latin American options. They decided to fix this oversight with La Cubana—the first Cuban food truck in the city. After three years of operation, the husband-wife duo decided to take things to the next level, turning their La Cubana food truck into a full-service restaurant.
“We weren’t sure how well Kansas City would accept Cuban food when we first opened La Cubana as a food truck,” Mireya Ruiz says. “My husband’s family is Cuban, so it was important to both of us to give the recipes he grew up with a chance to shine.”
Photo Courtesy of La Cubana
Mireya comes from a Mexican family, so La Cubana hedged their bets a bit by doing a combination of Cuban food and Mexican street tacos. The idea was that people who were unsure about the Cuban dishes could fall back on more familiar taco options. It didn’t take too long before the team realized they could retire their tacos.
“Very early on, there was a pretty even split between people ordering tacos and people ordering our Cuban dishes,” Mireya says. “But then, word-of-mouth started to spread. People started telling their friends, ‘You have to try this!’ Soon, no one was ordering tacos. We took them off the menu so we could purely focus on Cuban cuisine.”
Photo Courtesy of La Cubana
At their current restaurant, they do serve a few taco options, but all are made with Cuban meats from more traditional recipes. These recipes come from Lester’s family, specifically his mother. Now, the family and team at La Cubana strive to continue serving up Cuban favorites, seven days a week.
When most people think of Cuban dishes, the first thing that comes to mind is probably the namesake sandwich. The Sandwich Cubano is one of La Cubana’s best sellers—a delicious punch of flavors and textures, featuring savory pulled pork, ham, melted cheese, and mayo. All those heavy flavors are kicked up and balanced out with the additions of tangy mustard and pickles, and the whole thing is served on griddled bread for that missing crunchy element.
Photo Courtesy of La Cubana
There are a few other sandwiches on offer, but, for a real tour of Cuban flavors, Mireya points out La Cubana’s other dishes. Her favorite is the #1, El Tropical, which features shredded beef, white rice, black beans, and fried plantains. Another fan favorite is the #5, El Tipico, which is a plate of roast pork, congris (a black beans and rice Cuban specialty), yuca root, and a green salad. The idea behind each plate is that you can mix and match each bite, creating different textural and flavor elements as you work through your meal.
Cuban cuisine is all about tender, flavorful meats, balanced out by spice and fresh produce. Common elements across dishes include plantains, yuca (a starchy root vegetable), black beans, and rice. Since many items are stewed or mashed, frying is often used to add a different textural element. There are a number of items that can fill this crucial role: sweet or savory fried plantains, papa rellena (stuffed mashed potato balls that are given a quick fry), french fries, empanadas, and ham croquettes.
Photo Courtesy of La Cubana
Essentially, Cuban cuisine will share many elements with other Latin American foods you may have tried, but it has certain flavor profiles that help it stand alone. Mireya and the rest of the team at La Cubana have been amazed by the reception they’ve seen.
“When we first opened, we had just a handful of people with Cuban backgrounds coming through the door,” she says. “Now, we see many, many more—we have so many regulars who comment how the tastes and smells of our restaurant remind them of home. People tell us, ‘This tastes exactly like what my grandmother used to make.’ It’s a really good feeling to bring that kind of joy and nostalgia to people.”
Photo Courtesy of La Cubana
Next time you’re craving something a little different for a quick lunch or want to expand your dinner horizons, La Cubana is a great pick. Cuban restaurants are still few and far between in the Kansas City area, and the team here has it all down. Take a seat, enjoy your food, and finish off your meal with a Coladita (Cuban espresso) and a sweet pastry—That’s how you give yourself a little taste of Havana.
La Cubana is located at 5402 Winner Road, Kansas City, MO 64127. It is open seven days a week from 10:00 a.m.–9:00 p.m.
