A nod to La Cocina Cubana’s empanadas

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I’ll admit it: I’m out of touch. When a friend invited me to lunch at downtown Lansing’s La Cocina Cubana, it was my first time eating Cuban food. I didn’t even know what the difference was between Cuban and Mexican food. Nevertheless, I’m always willing to try new things.

I’ve worked downtown for more than a decade. I remember when the space at 123 S. Washington Ave. used to be Great Harvest Bread Co. After that closed, it housed several different restaurants until La Cocina Cubana took over in 2017. Although it had been a long time since I was inside the building, the interior of the restaurant was vastly different from what I remembered. It’s a small establishment, so tables tend to fill up fast, especially during lunch hour on a workday. Despite how busy it was, the staff worked very hard to accommodate everyone.

As I learned, Cuban cuisine isn’t as spicy as Mexican, which is good news for people with sensitive taste buds. Instead of chips and salsa, we recieved a complimentary basket of bread and chicken spread to start with. (Additional helpings cost $2 each.) For me, it was a rather unique appetizer. The chicken spread was mild, and the hard-crusted Cuban bread bits reminded me of a baguette. Though not as addictive as chips and salsa, it was still pretty good.

Perhaps I should have tried one of the many Cuban-style sandwiches on the menu, but that day I was interested in the chicken empanada house special, which came with two savory chicken-filled pastries, rice and beans. The seasoned rice and black beans weren’t served separately as they usually are at Latin restaurants but were instead mixed together and molded into a tidy cylinder, which seems to be a popular plating trend these days.

I dug right into my meal, and it was delicious. The pastry crust was warm and flaky, and while the chicken wasn’t spicy, it was far from bland. The seasoning was just right. The plate came with some kind of empanada sauce that I couldn’t identify, but it had a tangy flavor that helped liven up the whole dish.

My friend ordered the traditional Cuban sandwich (ham and cheese) and a side of maduros, or fried plantains. My curiosity to try one was overruled by my longtime distaste for bananas, which are very similar to plantains. The sandwich, on the other hand, looked promising. It was so big that my friend had to get a box because she couldn’t finish it. All in all, we had a great lunch, and I’m glad I was able to try a new cuisine — one that I’ll definitely have to explore more in the future.

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