Asia de Cuba Reopens

In 1997, chef Luis Pous emigrated from Cuba to Miami to put his training from the National School of Culinary Arts in Havana to use in America. That same year, restaurateur Jeffrey Chodorow opened the original outpost of Asia de Cuba in Manhattan. It would be more than a decade later, though, that the two finally met to reinvent the brand. “From a culinary standpoint, here’s the opportunity to do what I never really had the chance to do,” says Chodorow. “I did the first menu for Asia de Cuba, though I can’t cook — I imagined it. We had a no-name chef because I couldn’t find [a notable] one.” That menu was based on Havana’s Chinatown neighborhood; when Chinese immigrants came to Cuba to work on the sugar and coffee plantations in the late 19th century, the cooking techniques of the two cultures melded to create a version of Nuevo Latino cuisine. While the food was certainly part of the draw, by the time Asia de Cuba closed in 2011 (due to restructuring of Morgans Hotel Group, a partial owner), it was known more for its celebrity patronage than its plantains. Guests included Michael Jordan, Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper — more

Follow WWD on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook.

Read More...



from WWD » Recent Stories http://ift.tt/1C1Xyim

via IFTTT