Ropa vieja, empanadas, sweet plantains and tropical drinks are on the menu at Cuba 512. Photo: Asher Price/Axios
👋 Asher here, your tireless strip mall connoisseur.
Recently, after dropping off our kids at a trampoline park birthday party at a strip mall by West Gate Boulevard and William Cannon Drive, some other parents and I repaired to the adjacent Cuba 512 for a repast.
The scene: The restaurant does its utmost to culinarily transport you to the tropics even as you overlook a sprawling parking lot that also serves a metaphysical crystal purveyor (The Healing Vortex), a national gym chain (Planet Fitness), a Gateway Church (motto: "No perfect people allowed") and, naturally, a mixed martial arts studio.
What to order: To get in the mood, you'll want to start with a tropical drink — I got a blackberry-banana batido con leche ($5.50), but of course mojitos and other alcoholic beverages are on the menu.
I also ordered a filling ropa vieja ($18.50) with a side of red beans and sweet plantains.
