A little wet one goes a long way

Boy, it was hot last week. I suffered from heat-induced torpor and did not want to go out to eat anywhere. But like a dutiful reviewer, I ventured out into the cauldron and went to a restaurant that serves food made for just such a climate, a Cuban place. The WBJ visited La Bodeguita del Medio more than a year ago, in January 2001, to decidedly mixed reviews. "Cuban food is certainly nothing to rave about," my colleague wrote back then. At the time, the enterprise was affiliated with an international chain with branches scattered all over the world. One good thing about chains: they're consistent. One bad thing about chains: consistency often equals mediocrity. So the restaurant's owner chucked off his affiliation to an international franchise, dropped the "del Medio" part of the name and reworked the menu. He kept the prime location on plac Zbawiciela, kept an impressive mix of rum drinks and held onto much of the atmosphere. And there's a good-value lunch menu. The result: Cuban food is certainly nothing to rave about.

But it is a great place to go for drinks on a hot day - especially the beloved mojito, roughly translated, in my bad Spanish, as a "little wet one." Rum, lime, club soda, mint, sugar and light rum. Cold. In a glass dripping with condensation. Wet. Tasty. Very cold. And Bodeguita has a great location for drinking them - under the sheltering protection of building and umbrella, with a breeze stirring through the concrete canyon. Hot diggety. Downstairs is also atmospheric, in a darker way. Graffiti on the walls, pictures of famous expats in their Cuban haunts, interesting artwork and comfortably dim lighting. The waitstaff is attentive, if a tad forgetful. I'd slosh back a few cold ones down there, too. Unfortunately, man does not live on drink alone. I had heard good things about the revamped kitchen. But at best, the food is an adequate accompaniment to the drinks. The solids are not a stand-alone reason for heading to Bodeguita. On a trip last week, my friend Adam had a great appetizer - enslalada de mariscos, a mix of squid, onions, cherry tomatoes and olives in oil and balsamic vinegar, along with some other goodies. The flavors worked wonderfully together, with sea and land meeting to nicely compliment each other.

The rest of the dining experience was a notch down. I tried lemon soup, which seemed a light chicken broth heavily doused with lemon, and spiked by a lump of sticky rice. It was close to being really good and refreshing but was somehow a bit off. For a main course Adam went with pollo a la campesina - bits of chicken covered in sauce, served with some veggies and potatoes (or rice or fries). The chicken was OK but the vegetables were poorly presented and the potatoes uninspired. My dish had the same weak side medley. The main course, ropa vieja, was just kind of weird. Ropa vieja is arguably the traditional Cuban dish, a beef stew not necessarily made with good-quality meat but generally tasty. Bodeguita has a slightly different take on the recipe, using turkey as the main ingredient. Nothing wrong with a little innovation. But the spices that went along with it were strange. Cinnamon, maybe?

Anyway, we ordered another round of mojitos to help wash the stuff down. That was good. And they took the place of desserts - some of which looked interesting. Normally I wouldn't go back someplace with so-so food. But Bodeguita has a certain something going for it, what with the good drinks and pleasant atmosphere. And as an interesting side note, a Cuban place ought to do all right in Warsaw - Fidel Castro is one of the most recognized world leaders in Poland. According to a recent poll, he had 92% name recognition, trailing only George W. Bush and Vladimir Putin. Fond memories of an old comrade? The iconic quality of the old fart's beard-and-stogie image? Or just the unavoidable identification that comes with tenaciously clinging to power despite everything and everybody? Whatever. If not to a mojito, then here's to a Cuba Libre. A meal for two, with drinks, came to zł. 180 ($43).

On the menu: Lunch menu (soup, main course and a drink) zł. 15 Lemon soup zł. 10 Ensalada de mariscos zł. 23 Ropa vieja zł. 29 Pollo a la campesina zł. 29 Mojito zł. 20