Fried Calamari at Cafe Cuba

I went to Cafe Cuba at 20th and 8th Ave to try their cuban sandwich (another post), but when I saw they had a Frita Mixta, I had to give it a shot. There is one thing you must know about me - I always order fried calamari if it looks good. It's like a litmus test for all restaurants. If they can't do a passable calamari, there's no need to move on to the main course. I've tasted plenty of bad (mainly of the frozen variety), nibbled on the mediocre, but I've also been spoiled by some of the best.

Overall, they did a good job. This restaurant added fried shrimp to the package (the mixta part of the frita). The calamari was very tender, as were the shrimp. There was a nice touch of salt, but yet nothing else. The so-called Caribbean sauce tasted just like normal marinara, which would be fine at a restaurant that didn't have so much decorative flair. Yet with all the colorful murals and the up tempo Cuban music I was expecting something with a little more zing.