Gusto Cuban Café is mucho gusto

September 2, 1:18 PMOmaha Ethnic Restaurants ExaminerMelissa Aden

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A recent article assignment from Omaha publication The Reader took me to Gusto Cuban Café. Feeling a wee bit out of my comfort zone, I brought a good friend along for the ride as my security blanket.

As I wrote in the article, “Mucho Gusto! Gusto Cuban Café offers great food and fun,”

Before visiting Gusto Cuban Café on 79th and Harrison, my only exposure to Cuban food and culture was what I’d gleaned from watching the movie Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights. While I wasn’t expecting to find a hot underground salsa club, I was looking for an escape from reality for a few hours. Thankfully, my visit to Gusto provided the respite I desired.

Owner and Chef Roberto W. Meireles

First things first, my friend, Laura, and I ordered a round of mojitos (honestly, the best I’ve had in Omaha), and took ordering cues from our server Sonia Roca. (Check out images of our Cuban feast here.)

Roca recommended two popular entrees: the Ropa Vieja ($13.99), a dish of tender shredded beef in a tomato-based sauce of garlic, wine and creole seasonings, and the Lechon Caribeno ($14.99), pork roasted in mojo sauce. The dishes were served with rice and black beans or red beans, a sort of savory kidney bean soup, and a serving of sweet plantains.

I loved the slightly sweet sauce of the Ropa Vieja, and the meat of both dishes was flavorful and super tender. I also was surprised that I enjoyed the sweet plantains, with a texture and syrupy flavor I’d liken to bread pudding.

After our fantastic meal, we ended the night with meringue and salsa on the dance floor.

Ritmo Suave DJ Arturo gave a quick lesson on meringue and salsa basics, and soon we were shimmying around the dance floor with the ever-growing crowd of regulars. Jorge Alayon, a Cuban who was born and bred in Miami, gave me a dance lesson all his own. He taught me how to “dance like a real Cuban,” saying it’s less about technique and more about “letting the music run through your blood and feeling it in your bones” so you can “dance with your soul.”

The food was fantastic and the atmosphere thrilling. I highly recommend trying Gusto Cuban Café out sometime soon. To read the full article at TheReader.com, click here.

For an Examiner.com exclusive interview with Gusto Cuban Café’s owner and Executive Chef, Roberto W. Meireles, click here.