Jose's Real Cuban is an Icon in the Making

BRADENTON – Jose Baserva was only a year old when he and his family left Cuba for Miami in 1959 following the Cuban revolution, but Cuban tradition was always front an center in his home – especially the kitchen. After decades in the business, Baserva opened his now famous “Jose's Real Cuban," just west of Palma Sola on Cortez Blvd. The rest is history in the making.

Baserva quickly gained a loyal following with his authentic dishes that reveal both his commitment to quality ingredients and adherence to tradition. But when word of his almost mythical food spilled out of the local area and attracted the attention of the Food Network, it was the beginning of a new chapter in the otherwise easy to drive by eatery's story.

Guy Fieri, host of the network's flagship Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, paid a visit to Jose's last spring and when the episode finally aired this past fall, with Fieri declaring Jose's the “real deal,” while salivating over Baserva's fare, it catapulted the restaurant to iconic status.

On a recent trip, every seat was taken, which has been the case almost constantly since the episonde aired. A couple poked their head in to grab a menu and Baserva quickly snapped at them. “Wait! We got rules here,” the animated chef yelled. “No one leaves without trying the food.” Within seconds, he had his busy staff lop some of his impossibly-tender pork into small cups. The shy couple seemed a bit taken back, but thanked him as they took the samples toward their car. Seconds later they were back at the counter placing a to-go order.

Baserva says he once sold used cars, and the salesman clearly knows his best hook with potential customers. Once they get a drop of his food on their tongue, they are hooked for life. The house's signature Lechon Asado – that impossibly-moist pork served with his famous black beans and rice, topped with yucca or delicious fried plantains is the perfect orientation to Jose's menu, and for that matter, real Cuban food as a whole.

Of course there's the area's most authentic (and delicious) real Cuban sandwich, but also a signature Pan Con Lechon that truly shows just how good the restaurant's pork is. Regular customers always make sure there's plenty of that special red salsa in their to-go bags, that once added to the perfectly-seasoned black beans and rice creates culinary magic.

I've had the pleasure of eating at some of the most storied hole-in-the-wall legends in the country from all of the famous Philly Cheesesteak joints, to the storied New York City Pizza shops and West Coast burger stands, and Jose's has the look, feel and most importantly the food, to become a Florida institution – the kind of place where people traveling up the East Coast make a three-hour, off-course pilgrimage to, just to say they've eaten there. If you live in Manatee County and still haven't – shame on you! Jose's is not only the best Cuban food I've had in the area, it's perhaps the best meal period!

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