Black Beans Cuban Bar & Grill

Clint U., Thank you for your post on this diamond in the rough!!!
Having my friend from CA visiting, who has never had Cuban food, this was an excellent choice. We started off our meal with the following:
Fried Plantains: Which we got for free for being Latino. **** stars
Masita Frita: Clint U. was right the pork cubes were tender and juicy on the inside busting with flavor. ****stars
Ox Tails: Was cooked in a different sauce than I am used to. Did not leave my fingers feeling sticky like I am used to. *** stars
Arroz Moro: White rice, black beans, bacon, peppers and spices mixed together. ****stars.
I would have to agree that it was a great start and my friend wants to try another Cuban restaurant tomorrow.

…It all started on a two hour plane trip… (and no… this isn’t about a Gilligan’s Island spinoff)…halfway into the trip I asked the off duty flight attendant sitting next to me if she knew of any really good locally based restaurants in the Tampa area… preferably Cuban. What I got in the next hour could be pilots for two reality shows… from her entire life, marriage, and United Airlines employment to all the different restaurants her and her husband tried both good and bad. Don’t get me wrong… her conversation was entertaining and infectious… and soon we were talking to Tampa residents two rows behind us comparing restaurants. By the end of the flight and after extensive comparison of local notes the recommendations were Columbia, a very well publicized, touristy and crowded Cuban restaurant, or Black Beans, a more home like local hole in the wall. Both were regarded to have great Cuban food. I tend to like off the beaten path restaurants… La Terisita was on the short list but Unilocal reviews have noted it has started a downward slide… so off the Black Beans I went.
«Do you have ox tails?» I asked calling ahead to order take out.
«No» came back the reply from a youngish sounding voice.
«Then, what is your favorite dish on the menu?» I asked hoping for a food miracle…
«Masita Frita is the dish I have always liked and ordered a lot here,» came back the reply without much hesitation. I am a sucker for chicharrion.
«OK. I’ll be there in 20 minutes.»
On the outside, this looked like your typical, 30 year old, never maintained properly, 6 store strip mall. The Black Beans over the aluminum awning was clearly hand painted. Every sign of all the stores were faded 10 years past on when they should have been replaced.
However on the inside, the interior decoration was dated but very well maintained. As I waited I spotted on the take out menu… OX TAILS. GRRRRRRR. I was truly disappointed and was going to raise a lot of displeasure… until I found out the voice on the phone was a high school student who just started work here a few days ago… I kept a smile on my face as I joked about missing out on ox tails… one of my all time favorite dishes.
But as I got back to my hotel room and dug in… I soon found out that this is a GREAT Cuban restaurant. Here is what I had:
Masita Frita: Marinated pork deep fried. Truly an outstanding Cuban comfort food dish. The pork is hard and crispy on the outside with the familar «carmelized» meat on the outside… tender and juicy on the inside. 5 stars
Arroz Moro: White rice, black beans, bacon, peppers and spices mixed together as a side dish. This was a very tasty and excellent dish, however the version I got was on the dry side. This had 5 stars written all over it but I gave it 3 stars for the dehydration.
Fried Plantains: Recommended as a complement to the rest of the dish by the high school student. It was a perfect complement. 4 stars.
I finished an excellent meal in my room… but I still wanted ox tails… sooooooooo…I dragged my business buddy travelling with me to the same place the next night… and here is how it went…
Ox Tails: In a creole sauce… was cooked right. I love eating the cartiledge. But it wasn’t my favorite rendition… I still prefer ox tails in a black bean sauce. 3 stars…
Yuca Con Mojo: Bold and it was… yuca. Pretty plain but that is what was expected…4 starts
Arroz Mojo: Much better tonight… moist and tasty
Cazuela de Mariacoa: My buddy’s dish of shrimp, scallops, grouper, clams, mussels in a tomato based sauce… WoW what a great dish… I was lucky enough to get a taste of it. 5 stars.
Overall a great Cuban restaurant in Tampa…4 stars