Busy Bean Cafe in Penfield, NY, introduces Cuban dinner menu

Life and business partners Melissa Sharrow and Carlos Tase opened two successful cafes together, but had always dreamed of opening a restaurant showcasing the cuisine of Cuba, where Tase lived until he was 18. “We just didn’t know where to start,” Sharrow said.

Enter Sanchez Yunior Alvarez and Reinaldo Rodriguez, two chefs originally from Cuba who Sharrow and Tate hired to prepare American breakfast and lunch dishes at the Busy Bean cafes they own in Victor and Penfield.

When Sharrow and Tase told them about their idea of a Cuban restaurant, the chefs responded enthusiastically, preparing dishes they had enjoyed as children in Camagüey in central Cuba.

“We’ve been participating with everyone,” Sharrow said. “They’re cooking exactly the recipes they brought with them.”

What’s on the menu at Raices Cubanas

The Cuban menu is called Raices Cubanas, which means “Cuban Roots,” and is served for dinner Thursday through Sunday at the Busy Bean restaurant on the Wegmans shopping strip in Penfield.

A classic Cuban sandwich has become so popular that it has been added to the lunch menu at both locations. Roast pork (carnitas), ham, Swiss cheese, pickles, mayo and mustard are pressed together and baked on a panini press.

Cuban food is flavorful but not spicy. The most popular main dish is ropa vieja – tender beef in a tomato sauce seasoned with garlic, onions, green peppers and spices. The same sauce is used for several other dishes, including a tasty enchilado de camarones (Cuban-style shrimp creole dish). The menu includes several other dishes made from pork, chicken, beef and seafood, including a whole fish that has been seasoned and fried.

Main dishes include protein, rice, beans and plantains/yucca; a small green salad garnishes the plate. You can order white rice only, white rice with black beans served separately, or rice and black beans mixed. The plantains are served as maduros (fried, soft, sweet plantains), tostones (coin-shaped, twice-fried plantains with a slightly firmer texture than French fries) and chicharritas (plantain chips, similar to potato chips). The latter two are served with salsa rosa, an addictive pink garlic sauce.

The menu also includes a selection of fried appetizers: ham or chicken croquettes, potato balls stuffed with ham and cheese, tostones, rellenos (twice-fried stuffed plantain pockets), chicharritas and yuca frita (fried yucca sticks, similar to French fries).

Orders are placed at the counter. “Everything is made fresh,” Sharrow said. Dishes are made to order, so expect to wait 20 to 30 minutes for your order, or call ahead to order.

The new menu has so far attracted mostly Latin American visitors, but is also accessible to those new to the kitchen. The menu has Spanish names alongside English descriptions. The staff is fluent in Spanish and Sharrow is available to answer questions from English speakers.

When you go

Raices Cubanas is served at the Busy Bean Café, located at 2157 Penfield Road in Penfield, Thursday through Sunday from 4:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Busy Bean’s breakfast and lunch menus are also available for dinner. Regular hours are 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily.

Menus can be found online at busybcafe.com. Click on “Raices Cubanas” to go to the Cuban menu. To order ahead, call (585) 430-1042.

Accessibility: The Penfield location has a large parking lot and the restaurant is wheelchair accessible. The dining room is spacious and the tables are a conventional height.

The Victor location is located at 10 E. Main St. in Victor. They do not offer Cuban dishes other than the Cuban panini.

Tracy Schuhmacher covers the Rochester dining scene. Notice something opening or closing in your neighborhood? Send tips to [email protected].

What’s on the menu at Raices Cubanas

When you go

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