Calle Ocho: This lively Latin restaurant/lounge, named for a bustling thoroughfare in Miami’s Little Havana, brings some much-needed tropical heat to the Upper West Side. There are plush banquettes around the bar and a large, bustling dining area in the back. The menu ranges from tapas to traditional pork and shrimp dishes, which are all mouthwatering. Sultry samba music drifts over the speakers and if you close your eyes, you can imagine feisty bikini-clad ladies and old men in panama hats playing dominoes. Unfortunately, the crowd is mostly the buttoned-up preppy type. The baños are designated by pictures of Lucy and Ricky Ricardo, a cutesy touch. A visitor here could make the most debonair, homesick Cuban band leader proclaim, “Honey, I’m home.” |
