About Mi Cuba Cafe
 Date-Night-Worthy |
 Good Drinks |
Even a weeknight can feel like a party at this bustling, tropical-hued restaurant in Columbia Heights. Couples pack two-tops in front while groups take over the back, boisterously conversing over mojitos. Cuban classics emerge from the kitchen, comforting and without a hint of heaviness—a danger in less skilled hands. There’s a toothsome ropa vieja (pulled beef stewed with tomatoes), one of the city’s best Cuban sandwiches, and juicy, crisp-skinned chicken served with a bright orange-garlic mojo sauce. All entrées arrive with buttery white rice and beans plus a side—the caramelized plantains are worth a trip in themselves.
Also good: Empanadas with ham and four cheeses; picadillo (ground beef cooked with tomato sauce and olives); frijoles colorados (red beans with sausage); flan.
See what other restaurants made our 2016 Cheap Eats list. This article appears in our May 2016 issue of Washingtonian.
Ann Limpert joined Washingtonian in late 2003. She was previously an editorial assistant at Entertainment Weekly and a cook in New York restaurant kitchens, and she is a graduate of the Institute of Culinary Education. She lives in Petworth.
Anna Spiegel covers the dining and drinking scene in her native DC. Prior to joining Washingtonian in 2010, she attended the French Culinary Institute and Columbia University’s MFA program in New York, and held various cooking and writing positions in NYC and in St. John, US Virgin Islands.
