THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED Habanero Cava Latina

THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED Habanero Cava Latina Restaurant Review:

Habañero Cava Latina is dark and brooding, a sensuous space despite the concrete floors and picture windows up front. There’s ruddy red paint on the walls and burlap cloths on the tables. Wild, serpentine light fixtures snake down from the ceiling, intoxicating tunes flow gently from a hidden CD player, and the overall feeling of the room is just right. On recent visits, however, that can be said for little else. While many midtowners swear by Habañero, we’ve been disappointed by the food of late. The ropa nueva, billed as a modern twist on a Cuban classic, is essentially an order of chicken fajitas without the tortillas, guacamole or pico de gallo---neither better nor worse than what you’d get at any Mexican chain in town. The lomo de cerdo arrollado is a little more interesting, but not by much. Although the pork loin is purportedly roasted with cumin, garlic, oregano and bacon, it bears only slightly more flavor than the tepid garlic mashed potatoes that come with it. The food is not all bad, mind you; it’s just not very good---a sad comment on a place with so much promise.