Three Guys from Miami:Asturias Restaurant

Looking for a great Cuban cookbook?
"Three Guys From Miami Cook Cuban" and "Three Guys From Miami Celebrate Cuban"

Glenn: With the demise of the famed Hialeah racetrack, many people have forgotten this still vibrant Cuban community.

Jorge: For many Cubans, Hialeah is their American hometown, the place their lives began in the United States.

Raúl: With so many Cubans, you can be certain of one thing -- Cubans love to eat, so there has to be some great restaurants in Hialeah to feed them.

Glenn: One restaurant in particular has been serving the hungry Cubans of Hialeah for more than 20 years. The Asturias restaurant is a Hialeah mainstay that serves some great Cuban and Spanish dishes. The restaurant is very compact, and during a busy lunch hour there may be a short wait for a table.

Jorge: Named for the province in Spain, Asturias has a strong Spanish influence.

Raúl: The original owners were Spanish, not Cuban.

Glenn: One thing is certain, they make an excellent Fabada Asturiana, the signature dish of the province. It's the Thursday special, and we were lucky enough to have lunch at Asturias on the Thursday before Labor day weekend. The Fabada here is thick and flavorful, chock full of tender white beans and chunks of salty, smoky ham.

Jorge: If you knew how many maduros, fried sweet plantains, we have eaten over the years...

Raúl: ... it must be thousands of tons...

Jorge: ... you know that we know a good fried plantain when we see one.

Glenn: I love fresh Florida avocados and if you order the avocado salad here, you (and at least two of your friends) are in for a treat. They give you a HUGE serving of avocado with olive oil, vinegar, and fresh limes served "on the side" so that you can prepare it the way you like it.

Enchilado de Camarones features eight good-sized shrimp.

Jorge: I found the vaca frita to be exactly to my liking. The beef is finely shredded and fried without being overly oily -- it has a very light taste! They serve it smothered in fried onions and garnished with fresh lime wedges -- the lime juice really brings out the flavor of the meat.

Glenn: And the maduros here are out of this world. We're not sure how they do it, but these are just about the best we've ever had. The edges are crispy, the natural sugars are fully caramelized, and the flesh is so sweet and so tender. You could eat these maduros over ice cream for a great dessert!

Pargo topped with shrimp and cheese.

Raúl: They have a nice snapper dish here: A lightly breaded filet covered with a generous serving of sautéed shrimp and melted queso blanco, a mild white cheese.

Jorge: The enchilado de camarones features not the usual five but eight good-sized shrimp served swimming in a delicious tomato-based sauce. These shrimp were fresh and full of flavor.

Glenn: We couldn't resist the flan de queso for dessert, and we weren't disappointed. The desert was thick and rich, like a dense Cuban cheesecake.