Tastes Like Cuba

October 29, 2007
In this memoir, playwright and professor Machado (Kissing Fidel) tells the story of his family's escape from Cuba and their assimilation into the U.S. Although his tale features a familiar triumph-over-adversity storyline, it distinguishes itself in descriptions of Cuban delicacies, complete with recipes. Recalling a hasty dinner of swordfish escabeche enjoyed in the midst of the Revolution, he writes, "Something about looking down at a golden slab, cutting into the thick flesh... made the meal feel like a luxury." To better share the tastes of home, the author studs the book with recipes for favorites like Roast Pork, heady with garlic and citrus, and Biztec Empanizado, a tropical country-fried steak that's surprisingly light. Though the vivid food writing captivates, the memoir can drag in long reporterly passages, and rankles with a few too many glib assessments: "The shock of dad's departure was that it changed how we understood the very concept of family." Nevertheless, the luxuriant descriptions of family meals, and the obvious joy Machado takes in recounting them, make this memoir a tasty read.

Starred review from January 15, 2008
Playwright Machado ("The Cook") was sent to the United States in 1961, during Operation Peter Pan, and has spent most of his life hungry for a connection to his past. It is at a "paladar", a word used in Cuba for a home-based restaurant, called Gladys's House that he finds it. Gladys's specialty is Garlic Chicken roasted in "mojo", sour orange juice, and oregano, and, thankfully, Machado provides the recipe that unlocked his childhood. Each chapter ends with at least one recipe, and many Cuban favorites are featured, e.g., Vaca Frita, authentic Croquetas made with a béchamel base, and Tostones with Mojo, as well as more personal recipes such as his grandmother Cuca's Newspaper Soup, so named because it was torn out of a newspaper without the topmost section featuring the actual title, and a unique recipe that reveals the exile's struggle to make sense of a new land in heartbreaking simplicity, Garbanzos with Spam "Chorizo." The recipes are easy to follow, with engaging notes about preferred ingredients, serving methods, and settings. Machado's beautiful and evocative memoir is highly recommended for public and academic libraries.Rosemarie Lewis, Broward Cty. P.L., Fort Lauderdale, FL

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