El Siboney Cuban Restaurant

For authentic Cuban cooking, it's worth venturing just a few blocks from Duval Street and the heart of Old Town to find El Siboney, an informal, noisy, and fun restaurant serving terrific Cuban fare and extremely fair prices. Inside the squat redbrick building you'll typically find a big crowd of Hispanic and Anglo diners convening over roast pork with black beans, Cuban sandwiches, ropa vieja, breaded steak, stuffed crab, barbecue chicken, conch chowder, and sweet plantains. It's hearty, honest, stick-to-your-ribs cuisine - the kind of cooking that'll fill you up and put a smile on your face. The family-owned restaurant, at 900 Catherine Street (305-296-4184) is open daily for lunch and dinner, but be warned that credit cards are not accepted.