Good morning! My Lyft just dropped me off in Little Havana. My rental doesn’t start until this afternoon so I booked luggage storage on Luggage Hero. It was supposed to be at Top Cigars.

That was a bit of a hassle because the storage place wasn’t there. It was across the street. Figuring out which cigar/gift shop it was…was a challenge.

I’m going to try Cuban coffee at El Pub. These are the different types of Cuban coffee. You can view their full menu here.

I went with the cafecito. This was just a dollar.

Domino park. I guess dominos are really popular in Cuba and they brought it here. I believe I read you have to be at least 55 years old to join a game here.

Then on the side they have more tables where I guess you can play when the park is locked up or if you aren’t old enough to join a game in the park.

Ball & Chain. That’s where I had the Lyft driver drop me because it’s a landmark I knew and my rental is almost behind it. I’ll definitely be by there tonight and maybe earlier as well.

I need one of these hats. I can be looking real authentic in the Havana bar tomorrow.

This is like their walk of fame. 

We are very close to the Miami Marlins stadium and I’ve heard the players frequent some of these spots. Too bad people don’t frequent their stadium.

These are the different types of churros and drinks you can get here. Here is their online menu.

I just ordered a filled churro with some toppings. I don’t really know what I ordered. I just told her whatever is best. 

Classic mojito 

When I turned in my luggage she secured it with a numbered zip tie type thing and had me take a picture of it.

Let’s check in on it.

I went off the beaten path for a Cuban sandwich. There are a ton around. I could’ve gotten a sandwich at El Pub or Old’s Havana but I did my research and Sanguich is the one I picked. It looks like the line is out the door.

They also have a takeout window with a line.

I got a counter spot. I like this better than a table because I get to watch them making the sandwiches.

This is La Rubia from Wynwood brewing in Miami.

They are making dessert level coffees over there. When she walked by to deliver it she had a shot sticking out of it as well.

I paid 2.66 this morning.

We’ve got some chicken drama here. The white one just chased the brown one down the sidewalk at like 60mph. A lady ran out into the street to avoid them. 

Then I get down further and I think he was chasing it away from his chicken family.

$5 mojito Monday at El Pub. Too bad it’s not Monday.

Live music is on at the Ball & Chain.

This mojito is better than the one at Old’s Havana. It’s slightly cheaper as well. After I took this picture I realized the bartender was posing and I cut his head off. I wasn’t trying to get him. I was trying to get the Ball & Chain sign.

 

I got my bag.

This is “the place.”

The message included a door code. Hopefully they change it every time someone checks out 🤞 

I’m not too sure that air conditioning unit was professionally installed.

I stand corrected. Definitely a professional job.

The TV is kind of weird. This is what it has. The ones that say live you watch live. The others have replays. And from what I can tell you can’t just flip through channels. You have to go back to this page to change the channel.

I’m heading back out. This is just a couple blocks from “the place.”

El Rey De Las Fritas is another place on my list.

That guy at the counter has his helmet on in case he falls off the stool.

I really need to rehydrate. I only had one water today.

Time to try the Cuban hamburger.

It’s different. This roll is definitely from a bakery. This isn’t a hamburger bun out of the package. The meat has a different flavor. It’s definitely worth a try if you’re around here. But if you have to choose between this and the Cuban sandwich, go for the sandwich!

Azucar is the place to go for Cuban ice cream. Their full menu is available here.

I’m going with their #1 seller Abuela Maria. Their #2 seller is Cafe Con Leche.

This is good. The Abuela Maria has Maria cookies in it. This definitely has a cookies n’ cream vibe but more like if the cookies were vanilla wafers or something.

Miami Madness from J.Wakefield brewing in Miami. 

They are pet friendly in here.

Espumita Meng! from J.Wakefield in Miami.

Old’s Havana has live music now.

The eternal flame looks much better at night.

One of these condos is what I had booked for months that they canceled on me the other day. Now I’m even more mad. Those places look really nice.

This is the Terras bar atop the Life House hotel in Little Havana. You can see why I wanted to come here so bad.

Bartenders.

I got another.

That’s either the DJ or an episode of between two ferns.

And another.

I didn’t want to walk back and I didn’t want to walk to Versailles so I thought I could kill two birds with one Lyft.

Maybe it was not such a good idea because all of these people are waiting for tables.

They say it will be a 30 minute wait. I’m kind of stuck. I wish they had a bar I could get a drink at.

It was only 25 minutes. You can view their menu here. 

Another reason I wanted to come here was I wanted to try this beer. I haven’t seen it on the other menus today but I knew they had it here.

The cricollo is what I’m getting. It’s $14.50 now so maybe all of their online menu prices are out of date.

Now that cassava is Yuca which I had in Ft. Lauderdale in 2019 and thought it was yucky.

 

The stuff on the left is the yucky yuca. It’s like an undercooked baked potato. Or maybe overcooked. I’m sure it would be better with butter, cheese, and sour cream.

It’s all good except the yuca. And I’m not big on the plantains. They aren’t bad. Just not something I’d eat. My favorite is the ham croquette.

This is the bakery section and the walk up window where you can get your coffee, pastries, or street food like the croquettes.

Im getting a Lyft back to “the place” and calling it a night.

Five-star rider!  Nobody rides better than me!

I can use this tomorrow. Tomorrow is embarkation day. Good night.

 

 

• Little Havana
• Miami