{"id":36998,"date":"2023-07-07T16:07:59","date_gmt":"2023-07-07T23:07:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/vitalvegas\/?p=36998"},"modified":"2024-10-25T08:41:46","modified_gmt":"2024-10-25T15:41:46","slug":"flamingo-is-getting-a-cuban-restaurant-havana-1957","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/vitalvegas\/flamingo-is-getting-a-cuban-restaurant-havana-1957\/","title":{"rendered":"Flamingo is Getting a Cuban Restaurant, Havana 1957"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A Cuban restaurant, Havana 1957, is coming to Flamingo Las Vegas, news sure to make your grandparents’ heads explode.<\/p>\n

Havana 1957 Cuban Cuisine will move into the former Tropical Breeze Cafe, across from the former buffet space.<\/p>\n

The restaurant hasn’t been officially announced yet, but we find official announcements about as exciting as golf on T.V.<\/p>\n

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Havana 1957 will feature live music. We will visit, anyway.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Big thanks to our friend @JamesinLasVegas<\/a> for spotting the new construction wall at Flamingo. James gets around a lot and makes it seem like we’re everywhere, when actually we spend the majority of our time in a hammock watching clouds, most shaped like neon signs or exotic dancers for whatever reason.<\/p>\n

The Las Vegas Strip could probably use a Cuban restaurant. Prior to this, if someone asked where they could get Cuban food in Vegas, we’d say “Good luck with that.”<\/p>\n

We have no idea if the food at Havana 1957 will be good, but it’s a chain, so they’re already ahead of the game.<\/p>\n

The restaurant’s operators have several restaurants in Las Vegas already, including Cafe Americano at Paris and Caesars Palace, along with the fantastic Mercato Della Pescheria at Venetian.<\/p>\n

Havana 1957 has multiple locations in Miami, Florida, where Cuban food is king, so that bodes well.<\/p>\n

The restaurants are operated by Vida & Estilo Restaurant Group<\/a>. “Vida” means “life” and “Estilo” means “stop wearing hats in restaurants, idiots.”<\/p>\n

The Havana 1957 Web site<\/a> says the restaurants give guests the opportunity to “experience the glory and glamour of old Cuba during the 1950s.”<\/p>\n

See, things were different in Cuba in the 1950s, it was a huge destination for those seeking an adult playground. Havana was described as “a mistress of pleasure, the lush and opulent goddess of delights” by Cabaret Quarterly in 1956. Read more<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Essentially, Havana was then what Las Vegas has become, just without resort fees.<\/p>\n

Fidel Castro took power in 1959. One of our favorite documentaries about this era is “Bananas,” by Woody Allen, a popular film writer and director before things got awkward.<\/p>\n

The history of Cuba is complicated and nuanced, so we definitely aren’t going to tackle it in our blog. Fun fact: Our dad was on the U.S.S. Enterprise during the Bay of Pigs.<\/p>\n

Anyway, you can check out the various menus for the existing Havana 1957 locations on their Web site.<\/p>\n

Havana 1957 offers all your favorite Cuban dishes including burgers, salads and chicken sandwiches.<\/p>\n

The “Pollo Havana 1957 Signature Roasted Chicken” seems to be the featured item, “A Cuban family recipe of roasted chicken marinated in-house in a delicious Cuban gravy that delivers a delightful citric and Caribbean spices notes. Served with white rice, black beans, roasted premium potatoes and sweet plantains.”<\/p>\n

We figured Carlos’n Charlie’s at Flamingo would be a little freaked out by the looming competition, but that’s because we assumed Mexican and Cuban food are the same things with different names.<\/p>\n

Apparently, Cuban food is less spicy than Mexican food because it is a combination of Spanish, African and other Caribbean cuisines. Mexican food is much more corn-oriented.<\/p>\n

As with Carlos’n Charlie’s, we expect the atmosphere at Havana 1957 will be lively and booze-fueled.<\/p>\n

As there’s been no official announcement of the restaurant, there’s no opening date yet. The over-under is fall of 2023. You’ll know when we do.<\/p>\n

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Want to explore more stories? Read about US gambling here:<\/b><\/p>\n