Cafe Habana Take Out 09-17-2010

Location: Next to Cafe Habana, 17 Prince St.
Time: 1pm
People: SaSha and myself

Feelings: Before I became a jaded New York blogger who takes food photos everywhere, I used to enjoy dining at Cafe Habana in Nolita. Nowadays, with little patience and less free time on my hands, I can't seem to have a pleasant dining experience here anymore. Their food is good but not good enough to wait in their never ending line, and the space is so cramped that I could never stand up to go to the bathroom. I would not even start on their waitstaff. In Brooklyn or parts of Queens, you get cool, hip, and cute waiters who are also nice and attentive. In Soho, that seems to be hard to find.

As SaSha and I were discussing ins and outs of Cafe Habana, we saw their smaller take out joint next door. The menu seemed to be the same as the restaurant. Perhaps I would be able to kindle my old innocent memories with Cafe Habana in convenient take-out form.

I ordered Portobello and Goat Cheese Burrito ($8.25, marinated portobello, spinach, herbed goat cheese, jalapenos, tomato & black beans) while SaSha took back Avocado and White Cheese Burrito ($8.25, white cheese, avocado, black beans, red onion, lettuce, tomato and chipotle mayonnaise). It is always welcoming to see goat cheese as an option for this lactose intolerant eater. The herbed goat cheese was a nice touch to the flavor since vegetable oriented burritos tend to be bland. Quick aside: the fat molecules in goat's milk are shorter than in cow's milk, resulting easier digestion, but I digress, ...or digest.

We both thought the burritos were quite large and difficult to eat, especially the whole slices of tomato inside. They unfortunately immediately fell apart, so we had to use a fork. I usually eat everything with fork including sandwiches, but other people should not have to use my method upon consuming burritos. SaSha also thought her burrito was a bit bland, but the ingredients seemed fairly fresh.

Perhaps I should have ordered their famous grilled corn or Cuban sandwiches instead of a burrito that requires utensils. Why did I order a burrito at a Cuban restaurant anyway? Next time I'm in the area, who knows, I might give another try to their restaurant and reminisce the early 2000s.