RESTAURANTS : Meals as Cuban as Mom Herself

Mention Cuban food in Orange County and the conversation immediately turns to the garlic-studded, orange-peel roast chicken served at Felix Continental Cafe in Orange. But that’s not all there is to the cuisine. You won’t find it, for instance, at Rafi’s Cuban Cafe, a nice new mom-and-pop place--or rather, a mom-son-and-daughter-in-law place--in Tustin.

The bottom of the one-page menu is signed Rafi, Kat and Mom. Rafi is Ralph Sanchez, a friendly, enthusiastic host, and many of the dishes you eat in this bona fide family operation are brought to the table by his wife, Kat. The real star of this cafe, of course, is Mom. You won’t see her unless you peer over the cash register and into the kitchen. She is an authentic Cuban grandmother, and she will be doing all the cooking.

Though spacious in a large, airy brick-walled room, this is essentially a very modest place. The tables are covered in slightly worn-looking yellow-and-white-checked oilcloth. A few clinical, even somber, posters of Cuba are hung on the walls. But the family has the good sense to have mambo music on the sound system.

My favorite thing to eat here is the Cuban sandwich or its smaller cousin, the media noche . They deserve to be enshrined in the Sandwich Hall of Fame. They’re both filled with thin-sliced ham and lechon (roast pork). The meat goes on buttered, grilled Cuban bread (a sweet, dense bread ideal for grilling or toasting) with some mayo and mustard. The Cuban sandwich also includes Swiss cheese. Substitute homemade pickles for the Swiss and you’ve got media noche (literally, “midnight”--it’s the perfect midnight snack).

Come for lunch and you might enjoy a hearty bowl of Mom’s black or red bean soup with one of these sandwiches. The red bean soup looks like an ordinary bowl of health store pinto beans . . . until you taste it. Subtly flavored with cumin and pork fat, it’s a dream peasant soup so substantial you probably won’t finish. The black bean soup is slightly blander but equally hearty, again with little grace notes of cumin in the aftertaste.

Most of the hearty main dishes come with rice and black beans, those staples of the Cuban diet. You can also get a side dish of yuca , a starchy root cooked with a light garlic sauce and stewed onions, but beans and rice are so basic to the cuisine you can order them by themselves in a dish called moros y cristianos --literally, “Moors and Christians.” Mix in some yuca and you get congri , the perfect complement to fragrant Cuban main dishes.

Cuban food isn’t like Mexican food at all, a fact you’ll soon discover should you happen to order picadillo , tasajo or bacalao . The menu tells us that picadillo is Cuban-style ground beef, prepared with sofrito and green olives. This is a great kid dish, terrific when messily mixed up with the rice and beans. Sofrito is the name for the mixture of sauteed onions, garlic, maybe peppers and a few spices that is the universal base of Cuban dishes. The olives add a wonderful pungency.

Tasajo and bacalao are definitely not for beginners. Tasajo (spelled “tasaho” on this menu) is a penetratingly flavored dish of beef strips cured in salt and then stewed nearly to mush. It’s another dish for mixing with rice, but you won’t need much--one spoonful could flavor an entire plate. This is the only dish here I do not fancy, mainly because of the intense saltiness.

Bacalao is salty as well, but the salt doesn’t seem so much of a problem--it’s natural in a dish of dried codfish. In its tomatoey sauce, this is quite unlike the other items here. It has a real homey tang, and the menu proclaims it Mom’s own favorite.

I love it, too, but I’m going to say the simple and succulent Cuban-style roast pork ( lechon ), which we’ve already met in the sandwiches, is the best entree. Meat-eaters can also choose good grilled steaks or ropa vieja (shredded beef in a piquant tomato sauce).

But chicken-lovers needn’t despair. Mom cooks a mean chicken fricassee and a distinctive version of arroz con pollo . The latter is a huge portion of steamed chicken, off the bone, in a casserole dish with lots of saffron-colored rice. Don’t order it, though, if you like your rice firm. In the chicken juices, the rice softens almost to porridge.

The desserts are simple and satisfying. Tiny hot empanadas spill out guava puree when cut open. A first-rate eggy flan made by Rafi and a dish of grated coconut with cream cheese are also available. Wash everything down with bitter, intense espresso from Cuban coffee beans or canned Cuban soft drinks like Coco Rico (coconut flavor), Malta (malt) or Jupina (pineapple).

And don’t bother Rafi about the orange peel chicken. It’s not an option.

Rafi’s Cuban Cafe is inexpensive to moderately priced. Sandwiches are $2.95 to $4.95. Soups are $2. Entrees are $5.95 to $9.95. Desserts are 95 cents to $1.50.

* RAFI’S CUBAN CAFE

* 425 El Camino Real, Tustin.

* (714) 505-4071.

* Lunch 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Monday-Saturday; dinner 4:30-9 p.m. Monday-Saturday. Closed Sunday.

* American Express, MasterCard and Visa.