I fell in love with Cuban food in the dimly lit bar underneath Hotel Pontotoc at 6 p.m. Monday, June 15. 

Chef Kyle Garhain, who specializes in Cuban cuisine, prepared a four-course authentic Cuban dinner for the hotel’s Taste of The City series at The Dame at 69 E. Pontotoc Ave.

In the past, Garhain cheffed at Midtown’s Memphis Whistle and the former Backlot Sandwich Shop Downtown. He is currently the chef for the newly launched Madison Social.

Though a native Memphian, Garhain went to culinary school in Cuba, and he started leading food tours of the country in 2019 through his company, Buen Sabor Cuban Tours.

The four drinks, each with Cuban historical significance, served at the dinner: a Cuban espresso, canchanchara, mojito and daiquiri. (Sophia Surrett/The Daily Memphian)

On Monday, he gave me and about 20 other foodies our own mini food tour. Each course was paired with a cocktail of historical significance in Cuba for an additional fee.

It was a taste of history, you could say.

The first course was two crispy tostones — twice-fried plantain slices — with mojo shrimp escabeche, pickled red onion and fresh herbs.

The colorful dish brought a refreshing, clean start to the dinner. The fried plantains provided a great base for a lime-forward bite with the right amount of red onion and a cilantro finish.

Canchanchara — a combination of Bumbu rum, lime and honey with a cinnamon-sugar rim — was the drink alongside the tostones.

The first dish of the dinner series has crispy tostones with mojo shrimp, pickled red onions and cilantro. (Sophia Surrett/The Daily Memphian)

Considered Cuba’s oldest cocktail, canchanchara is also called “liquid courage” because it was created during the Ten Years’ War by Cuban guerrilla fighters. It was said to help remedy sickness and fuel bravery.

It’s also easy to drink and had a good balance of tart and sweet. The rim tasted like fairy dust from heaven.

The second course was “sopa de malanga,” a creamy, silky soup with Cuban sofrito, crispy chorizo, fresh lime zest and the potato-like malanga root. 

The soup would be a great pick-me-up if one were sick or just had a bad day. The chorizo bits provided a welcome saltiness to the slightly sweet soup. 

The drink pairing for this course was a mojito, which is believed to have originated in Havana. The refreshing beverage was made with Bacardi rum, mint and simple soda.

The second dish in the dinner series was a soup of malanga root, Cuban sofrito and chorizo. (Sophia Surrett/The Daily Memphian)

The entree was a traditional Cuban ropa vieja: slow-braised, shredded beef in a rich tomato-and-pepper sofrito served with congri — a black-bean and white-rice mix — and caramelized sweet plantains.

The beef was tender and juicy and probably my favorite bite of the night. And the candied plantains were a sweet surprise. 

The drink with the entree was a daiquiri, a cocktail named after the small town of Daiquiri in Cuba. It’s made with Bacardi rum, lime and demerara, a type of sugar.

Now, I have to rave about the flan de leche dessert, a classic Cuban custard topped with silky rum caramel and toasted coconut. The dessert, which reminded me of creme brulee, is Garhain’s favorite dish to make, he said. 

And the drink pairing was my favorite, though it wasn’t a cocktail. It was a cafecito cubano or Cuban espresso. I have never had a cup of coffee that was so good on its own — the strong, sweet taste had the whole bar in agreement.

Regarding his future, Garhain plans to move to Cuba within the next year to run a soup kitchen as part of his nonprofit, the Cuban Aid Alliance. It is dedicated to reducing food insecurity. 

The dessert in the dinner series was flan de leche paired with Cuban espresso. (Sophia Surrett/The Daily Memphian)

This week in food news

After almost seven years, Inspire Community Cafe will close Saturday, June 27. The owner, Kristin Fox-Trautman, talked to Christin Yates about the endeavor and how she feels about it now.

Around the world in 80 plates and Memphis marks the spot for Mara Daniele and her step-grandfather Doug Duncan. I spoke to the pair at their 20th Friday lunch, which is part of a social media series where they try different cuisines around the city.

Jennifer Chandler wrote about the Orpheum Theatre’s “Beauty and the Beast” cast and crew dinner. During the dinner, the Friends of the Orpheum volunteer group served homemade Southern delicacies to members of the cast and crew — and does so after every Broadway show. 

Chandler followed up that story with a recipe for the Orpheum’s Cast Party banana pudding, which is in the volunteer group’s cookbook, “The Cast Party: A Collection of Recipes by the Friends of The Orpheum”. Chandler said the dessert is a hot topic on the Broadway tour circuit, so if you want to try it — without getting cast in a Broadway show — now you can.

Abigail Warren reported that Collierville could be getting a second 7 Brew location on Poplar Avenue. City officials raised concerns about traffic at the potential site of the drive-thru coffee chain, and the final decision will be made by the Board of Mayor and Aldermen on Monday, June 22.

Craving a breakfast burrito? Head over to my $15 deal about City Silo’s newest protein option, the chicken sausage, in its SEC burrito. This $12 dish is the local restaurant’s take on a sausage, egg and cheese burrito, which has a to-die-for pineapple salsa on the side. 

Lastly, after writing about Germantown’s newest Italian restaurant Josephine Estelle, Chandler reviewed its upstairs restaurant-bar in her latest New Eats. She said Rosie’s Tavern, a new concept by Andrew Ticer and Michael Hudman, has a lounge-like atmosphere alongside a wide-ranging menu.

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