5/5 Rafael N. 9 months ago on Google
La
Carreta
has
excellent
service
and
first-class
cuisine;
the
physical
ambience
is
simple
but
warm
and
accommodating.
Before
departing
for
Miami
I
had
plans
to
dine
at
the
renown
Versailles--
one
block
over
on
the
emblematic
"Calle
Ocho"
in
Little
Havana
BUT
two
incidents
diverted
me
to
La
Carreta:
a)
A
former
US
President's
visit
there
after
his
arrest
and
arraignment
at
the
local
Federal
Court
on
espionage
and
obstruction
charges
and
the
fact
that
he
was
serenaded
with
"Happy
Birthday"
by
the
patrons
present
therein;
b)
The
recommendation
of
a
local
resident
that
La
Carreta
is
the
best.
However,
it's
worthwhile
to
note
that
Versailles
introduced
high-quality
coffee
in
the
USA,
starting
in
the
1970s
at
its
small
stand
in
Miami
International
Airport;
coffee
and
"pastelito"
(a
ground-beef
Cuban
pastry).
Today,
at
the
Cuban
owned
Triton
Supermarket
in
Miami
Beach,
I
was
able
to
'stock
up'
on
my
daily
dose
of
two
cups
of
good
quality
coffee;
a
tradition,
I
will
say,
that
was
started
by
Versailles.
And,
I
must
commend
the
restaurant
for
its
imposing
and
beautiful
building
on
"Calle
8".
Back
to
La
Carreta:
before
leaving
for
Miami,
I
had
longed
to
have
a
day-to-day
Cuban
dish
(white
rice,
black
beans,
fried
ripe
plantain,
and
stewed
chicken
or
beef).
But,
Triton
Supermarket
offered
these
and
other
staples
on
a
daily
basis--
though
of
three-star
quality
versus
La
Carreta's
five-star.
Thus,
when
I
got
there,
I
decided
on
two
of
my
favorite
dishes
that
I
had
not
had
in
over
30
years--
Paella
and
Caesar's
Salad
and
they
both
were
the
best
that
I
ever
had
in
my
life.
Note:
La
Carreta
has
a
branch
at
Miami
International
Airport,
in
front
of
Gate
D-39
in
the
American
Airlines
section.