Cox: Authentic Cuban roadhouse in Windsor

Now that the United States and Cuba are moving toward rapprochement, you’ll likely be planning your vacation in Havana. Start by visiting Rumba Cuban Kitchen in Windsor to bone up on the niceties of Cuban roadhouse food.

There may not be any 1950s-era cars on the streets, but the food is authentic because the restaurant is owned and operated by six members of the Tormo family, originally from Cuba and then Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Much of the cooking is done by Arturo, who is not a family member and who goes by just his first name.

There’s a palpable Caribbean feel to the place. The building is a square, open, frame room with six bare wood tables, each with carnations in bud vases and a Café Bustelo coffee can filled with eating utensils and drinking straws.

If you travel to Cuba in the future and get away from a metropolis like Havana, you’ll find little privately-owned restaurants that serve this kind of good, lunchroom food.

As to Rumba’s cuisine, it’s not dissimilar to other Spanish-speaking Caribbean island nations, such as the Dominican Republic or Puerto Rico, or the Spanish cultures of Central America. But “not dissimilar” is not “the same as.” There is a certain Cuban flavor, an “alegria de cocinar,” a kind of energetic flair to the way things are put together. Although the past half-century has been a social disappointment for many Cubans and Americans, the food has retained the Cuban spirit and reminds us what we loved about that island so long ago.

You can taste that Cuban energy in the Café Cubano ($2.75 ???), a demitasse of super-strong espresso with a light brown crema floating on top. Each sip is a bitter dip if sugar isn’t added to the grounds before brewing, the way they do it in Cuba. The server at Rumba will ask if you want sugar.

Tip: Bitter is better. In Cuba, they drink these cups with every meal.

As in many places in semi-tropical or tropical Spanish-influenced America, the main starch is platanos, plantains in English, which are large, unripe banana-like fruit. When they are starchy and cut into thin rounds and crisped in hot fat, Cuban-style, they’re called tostones. When the fruits ripen and are sweet, they are served in long lumps called maduros.

All the daily special plates and entrées come with your choice of tostones or maduros, white rice and red or black beans. The black beans, by the way, are excellently seasoned. You will want something to drink, but the menu is limited to ice water, soft drinks or juice. A beer and wine license is being applied for.

Picadillo ($11.95 ???) is a menu mainstay that’s served all day. It’s a creole hash of ground beef, onions and tomatoes. Creole refers to African, Spanish, French and indigenous cultures that have merged around the Caribbean over the centuries to become something strong and vibrant, rather like the hash itself - delicious, but with roots in many different societies.

Another classic is the Cuban Sandwich ($11.95 ???). The juice and zest of oranges and limes, cooked down with garlic, oregano and olive oil, make a mojo marinade. A pork shoulder is marinated in it for up to 24 hours, then roasted. A big, foot-long wedge of wide but slender Cuban bread is splayed open and pork slices laid on. Cheese is laid on the pork, then slices of ham, mustard and pickles, and it’s covered with the top piece of bread. The result is a shimmering tower of flavor, sweet, tangy, pickle-y, mustard-y and meaty, all in bread that’s crunchy on the outside and soft inside. It’s hard to beat.

On a recent night, one of the specials was Pollo Fricassee ($12.95 ??½). The chicken is cut up, sautéed and braised, then served in its own sauce with tomato, onion and olive, smashed and griddled plantains, and the usual rice and beans plus raw tomato and onion slices.

There is a classic Cuban entrée called Bistec de Palomilla ($15 ?), which translates to butterfly steak and refers to the way the meat is prepared. But the meat here, cut thin, is chewy and tough.

To sum up: Real Cuban food from a Cuban family.

Jeff Cox writes a weekly restaurant review for the Sonoma Living section. He can be reached at jeffcox@sonic.net.

Rumba Cuban Kitchen

Where: 8750 Old Redwood Highway, Windsor

When: Open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays. Closed Sundays

Reservations: Call 687-5632 for take-out

Price range: Moderate, with entrees from $9.95 to $16.95

Website: rumbacubankitchen.com

Wine list: NA

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Food: ??½

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