Vaca Frita & Cuban Food

 

Menu Trends market research firm Datassential has Vaca Frita appearing on 0.3% of the menus in the US & is found equally in both, independent & chain restaurants with a notably +8% growth in the last 12-months. 

For VE concepts like Havana 1957 & Marabu, this menu item is a no-brainer, same as to anybody living in Florida, specially in Miami. And speaking of Havana 1957,  the almost a decade and a half location on the beautiful Espanola Way in South Beach has been listed as the Top 9 Vaca Frita in Miami spots by the prestigious culinary guide Infatuation.

Looking at items sold over the last 12 months, at the end of May, both Havana 1957 & Marabu have been serving about 20 flank steak Vaca Fritas per day & about 12 daily of Chicken, also a very popular item for the citrus onion sauce lovers. 

What about Ropa Vieja? Truth is that now officially in the Adoption cycle Ropa Vieja, according to Datassential, does appear in 0.6% menus with a slight decrease in 12-month growth charts. Ropa is widely popular as well as Havana 1957 & Marabu. Thing is that besides having them served as entrees, guests can also enjoy them in Tostones rellenos & Empanadas. 

Back to Vaca Frita, the wikipedia entry dedicated to this dish defines it as a Cuban dish of fried and shredded flank steak and translates into fried cow.

By. E. Machado
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