Although prices may be slightly higher than they remember, the food is the same, he said.

There's the ever-popular Siboney Steak, and De La Cruz's favorite sandwich, the Cuban Mix, which combines ham, cheese, pork, salami and lettuce and tomato, all toasted on Cuban bread, which is lighter, softer and tastes like butter, he insists.

Dinners run from $10 to $15 and include dishes like roast pork, shredded beef, halibut, grilled chicken, stuffed crab. Sandwiches are in the $6 to $8 range.

Side dishes, like fried yucca — which tastes like thick-cut french fries — fried plantains and, of course, traditional rice and beans are in the $2 to $4 range.

"All the employees eat over here," De La Cruz said. "That means something if employees eat in the restaurant. It means the food is good."

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