Tonight we decided to go somewhere a little different for us and try some cuban food. I’ve had cuban before, but my wife hadn’t, so she was a little hesitant at first. I assured her it would be good. I started doing a little research to see what cuban restaurants folks were recommending and settled on one not too far from us called Padrino’s Cuban Bistro. Padrino’s is a small chain here in Florida and is family owned. The location we visited is just off the 417 toll road at John Young Parkway, about 15 minutes from Disney.
We were a little early, so the place wasn’t very busy. Looking through the menu, there were several dishes that looked really good. They have Beef, Chicken, and Seafood selections marinated in savory herbs and they all come with a rice dish (white, brown, or yellow), black beans, and fried sweet plantains. They also have many good-looking sandwich selections, but we were going for more of a dinner feel, so my wife chose the Chicken Pinchos. a Marinated grilled chicken breast skewered with peppers and onions served on a bed of yellow rice with sweet plantains. I chose to get Rosa’s Chicken Steak – Mom’s specialty. Marinated grilled chicken breast covered with sautéed onions. Served with white rice, black beans and sweet plantains. There were so many selections that looked good, this was a harder decision than I expected.
After we ordered, out came a basket of fried plantains. Yummy! They came with an onion sauce that was sweet and complimented the salty sweetness of the plantains perfectly. My wife loved them! She was starting to believe this would be good. Our waitress, Diva, was very attentive and continued to bring us tea, we didn’t even have to ask, which is a nice change from many restaurants. After about 20 minutes our food arrived very warm. My wife’s plate was huge, with tons of yellow rice and huge chunks of chicken, bell peppers, and onions. She dove right in and commented about how perfect the chicken was cooked and how great the rice was, so I tried some and she was right! The yellow rice had a sweet taste too it, so she really didn’t want to eat much of the plantains because of how sweet they were. Me, on the other hand, I loved the plantains! My chicken steak was cooked perfectly as well and the seasonings were really savory. The beans and rice were awesome! All in all, this was a great cuban dinner! And I think my wife is also now MAD about cuban food! You have to drop by this place and have some great food!!
Here is their website – www.padrinosbistro.com
themadfoodguy
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