New World, New Tastes in Anaheim

Not many of the family restaurants around Disneyland are truly exotic. Then there’s Cuban Pete’s, just a stone’s throw from the Disney office complex at the rear of the park. Here Ruben Rodriguez, one of the founders of the Green Burrito chain, has created a charming, fun-filled, definitely exotic place, enlivened by a quick staff, bright Cuban-themed decor and (Thursday through Sunday nights) a salsa band.

The cuisine is basically Cuban, but Rodriguez also sneaks some dishes from his native Puerto Rico onto the menu, and they are unique. Puerto Rico was one of the first places where New World and African influences combined, resulting in dishes that are glittery mirrors of food evolution.

First and foremost, though, Cuban Pete’s is a lighthearted restaurant. The sun-splashed decor includes hokey tropical paintings, wooden cockatoos perched above tables, twirling fans and shuttered trompe-l’oeil windows. The place is full of silk tropical flowers and the same high-backed wicker chairs you see everywhere in the Caribbean.

There’s also a parquet dance floor, and if you use it, you may want to cool your jets with one of the many tropical drinks. The most refreshing one I’ve tasted was the Mojito: lime juice, mint, bitters and two jiggers of white Bacardi--shaken, not stirred, and served in a tall tumbler filled with cracked ice.

Lots of people who eat here, I’m told, never make it past the appetizers, and indeed the appetizer sampler plate is more than enough for a meal. It contains five diverse and satisfying items. I recommend starting with bacalitos, tiny codfish fritters with a wicked crunch. Then sample the empanaditas, little turnovers filled with picadillo (a hash of minced beef and green olives), then some crisp little ham croquettes (croquetas) that literally melt in the mouth.

The two heavier appetizers are better consumed last. One is a tamale (tamal Cubano) filled with picadillo. The other is the deliciously spiced papa rellena, a deep-fried ball of mashed potatoes with the same stuffing; it’s a hard act to follow.

Puerto Rico has its own appetizers, of course, less familiar and, to me, more interesting than the ones on the Cuban platter. Mofongo is a wonderfully addictive and hearty blend of mashed green plantains, garlic, olive oil and several spices I can’t identify. For the record, it’s supposed to be eaten like a dip, using fried banana chips to scoop it up. Another unusual appetizer you shouldn’t miss is zorullitos de maiz, sweet corn fritters stuffed with (rather surprisingly) cheddar cheese.

Entrees come with soup or salad, and by all means take the soup. (Not that the house salad is bad, but it’s no different than what you can get in other family restaurants, such as Cattleman’s Wharf just down the street.) There are two soups, both splendid. One is a Cuban black bean soup, the smokiest, most full flavored around. The other is caldo Gallego, a traditional Spanish soup of white beans, cabbage and smoky sausage.

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Many of the entrees are Cuban. I heartily recommend the roast pork leg (pierna de puerco asado), tender and garlicky, served in thin slices. Another solid choice is ropa vieja, literally “old clothes,” but actually shredded skirt steak stewed with peppers, onions and tomatoes. Whatever Cuban dish you choose, you will have the option to eat it with white rice and black beans, or with congri, which is simply those two ingredients cooked together.

There is a limited number of Puerto Rican entrees. Perhaps the best is stuffed breast of chicken, where the meat is stuffed with mofongo and then topped with a spicy tomato-based sauce. Arroz con camarones is unusually tangy and provocative too. It’s rice and shrimp sauteed with the fried preparation of onions, tomato and spices known as sofrito. I’m less enamored of bistec encebollado--thinly pounded beefsteak sauteed with onions and seasoned with vinegar, olive oil and garlic; there’s just too much vinegar for my taste.

The menu doesn’t end there. Cuban Pete’s is proud of its seafood specialties, which are really more European than Caribbean. Paella Valenciana (rather pricey at $20.95 per person) is great, but be willing to wait 30 minutes or more. The rice, rich with saffron, is cooked with chicken, sausage and several kinds of shellfish.

I also tried pargo al horno, a whole baked snapper (head and all). The fish was tender and moist, but I wouldn’t order it if you don’t like your fish inundated with lemon juice.

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After the main dishes, the waiter will bring a pastry tray filled with choices well-suited to the spirit of the tropics. The best offering is probably the creamy guava cheesecake, infused throughout with the medicinally sweet flavor of guava. Tres leches is a yellow cake made with three milks (condensed, evaporated and whole), in this case so moist it’s soggy. Flan de coco is more like it, though--a firm, dense custard flavored with fresh coconut.

Family restaurants may be like this in the Caribbean, but they’re definitely the New World in Anaheim.

Cuban Pete’s is moderately expensive. Appetizers are $2.75 to $12.95. Entrees are $9.95 to $22.95. Desserts are $3.25 to $4.25.

BE THERE

Cuban Pete’s, 1050 W. Ball Road, Anaheim. (714) 490-2020. 5-11 p.m. Sunday-Wednesday, 5 p.m.-2 a.m. Thursday-Saturday. All major cards.