After spending a week in the Caribbean on vacation the last thing I had on my mind was getting in the kitchen and cooking dinner. So I got in my car and headed over to Montclair, NJ and went to Cuban Pete’s restaurant. A number of friends and colleagues had been recommending this joint for some time so I finally decided to visit.
You enter Cuban Pete’s through a narrow outdoor walkway that resembles a street in the Caribbean with palm trees, chairs, tables and Afro-Cuban beats blaring from speakers.
Our waiter took us to our table, introduced himself and asked if we’d been to Cuban Pete’s before. He made a number of recommendations. We decided we would do mojitos and tapas. We started with a pitcher of Watermelon Mojitos and then we ordered several tapas dishes. We had crispy chicken lollipops with cilantro mojo, goat cheese fritters, Cuban beef hash with potatoes and fried plantains and sauteed shrimp with double garlic sauce.
Our second round consisted of a Spanish Harlem Punch and sauteed clams with double garlic sauce and beef empanadas. The tapas was really good. The punch has little to no alcohol in it but tasted good anyways. We ended our evening with chocolate pudding and two spoons. This was worth the trip and a must do if you are ever in Montclair.
Cuban Pete’s
428 Bloomfield Avenue Montclair, New Jersey 07042
(973) 746-1100
http://cubanpetesrestaurant.com/
