Cabana - Nuevo Latino - NYC

Last night a few friends and I went out to eat some Latino food! We went over to Cabana - Nuevo Latino, over in Forrest Hills, Queens. Inside was dark and festive, quiet yet exciting at the same time. The restaurant itself is very narrow and long, and it was quite packed when we got there at around 7:15 PM.



We were greeted by a waitress that told us all of the daily specials- and everything sounded delicious! I ended up ordering a drink, a Passion Daiquiris. My take on it? Extremely fruity- but I guess I like the fruity stuff so it was all right. The only complaint that I had was that it was little too thick, and the super thin straw they provided me with didn't allow anything to come up.




As an appetizer, we ordered the "arepas con queso blanco". Which, to me, sounds like, "a Rape butt". (YES, i AM SO immature. I know.. but COME ON!) Anyway, it was actually pretty delicious. It basically was a doughy flat corn bread, topped with mozzerella (or white cheese?) and a little touch of black beans. The cheese mound was huge, but it really made the taste. The bread was a little dry but it was nicely covered by the cheese... and the last touch, the beans had a sour-ish taste to it, really made the whole thing come together.



For dinner, we ended up sharing a Paella Valenciana.. and it was basically a rice dish with clams, mussels, shrimp, chicken, sausage (Chorizo) and some vegetables all mixed in. It was enough to serve 3 girls and it was AWESOME. It was a perfect mix of flavor and spices. I often find Spanish foods a little too salty for my liking (usually) but this was really well balanced. I believe it was the peppers that evened out the taste for me.



For dessert we had 'tres leches cake'. And it is NOT on the menu, but it is REALLY delicious. It's basically a cake with condensed milk integrated into it. It was extremely RICH, super SWEET, and it came with a side of Strawberry ice cream, and a few fresh fruits on the side. The fresh fruits came in handy to equal out the super-sweetness. I don't actually advise eating this whole piece of cake by yourself, it's probably diabetes-friendly. We shared it amongst 3 people and it was definitely good enough.

So, to sum it up, my experience was very delightful. Minus the not-so-friendly waitress attitude we received for a little bit. But that was forgivable due to the food.

Taste: 3.5/5
Atmosphere: 3.5/5
Cost: Range about $24-$30

COMMENTS? SUGGESTIONS? INQUIRIES?? Please comment. :)