Yesterday we'd planned to go sailing with Craig, but the weather didn't cooperate. We all did a little work (while the thunder roared) and then headed to Calle Ocho/Little Havana for some Cuban food at Versailles Restaurant. According to their website:
Versailles Restaurant, The World’s Most Famous Cuban Restaurant, has been serving tasty Cuban cuisine and culture to the South Florida community and tourists from around the world for four decades. Soon after it opened its doors in 1971, Versailles quickly became the gathering place and unofficial town square for Miami’s Cuban exiles. Today, it remains the unrelenting gauge of the community’s pulse. Not surprisingly, Versailles is typically the first place politicians visit locally to garner support from the Cuban exile community, and the restaurant is equally a favorite among the media for gathering commentary and footage of the community’s take on social and political issues. It is not uncommon to see local, national and international media set up camp in Versailles’ parking lot, where they’re sure to get a flood of local viewpoints.
Versailles is a cool cross between local hangout and tourist attraction. Food was good (cuban sandwiches, plantain soup, vaca frita, cafe Cubano) but the people-watching and the environment was even better. The restaurant apparently started as a French restaurant (hence the name and extraordinarily non-Cuban ornate decor) but didn't do very well and ended up as a Cuban place instead.
