Want some coffee with your milk?

It's Cuban breakfast time people!

It all begins with butter. Beautiful butter.

I've often been teased for putting "too much" milk and sugar in my coffee; "Are you going to have any coffee with your milk and sugar?" people ask me. I always respond that it has to do with how I was raised. When I was a little one in the Dominican Republic, Theresa, my nanny, used to sneak me Dominican coffee when my step mom wasn't looking. She thought it would make me grow faster. [She also thought bathing me in ice cold water and pulling the begeebus out of my hair when she was combing it would toughen me up and build character. That's torture I tell you!] Dominican coffee is ~ 1/2 milk, 1/4 sugar and 1/4 coffee served in a small cup. Cuban Cafe con leche is even more my style, 6/8 hot, frothy milk, 1/8 super strong coffee, and 1/8 sugar! Yummciousness! It's served like this...

You pour the desired amount of super strong, pre sweetened Cuban espresso into the hot milk.

Then you dip buttery Cuban bread into your coffee allowing the butter to drip into it, adding to its flavor. I've heard of Cuban coffee being served with a pinch of salt and a little butter already mixed in.

Delicioso!

While enjoying my desayuno Cubano, I noticed that the restaurant had a window and counter facing the outside to accomodate people who walk up to order their cafe Cubano or lunch to go. It's a drive through for pedestrians, a walk through if you will. As I was sitting in the restaurant several people stopped by the window, chatting with the server and sipping their espresso as they waited for their lunch to go to be prepared. My auntie explained that in Cuba all restaurants have a similar window and its a Cuban tradition that was brought over to Miami. I wish more places across America had such a window. I'm not sure why, I mean the typical restaruant counter is essentially the same thing only indoors. For some reason this walk through struck me as different. It seemed clear that people were using having to wait for their food to be prepared as an excuse to pause in their day and slowly enjoy their coffee and conversation. When I'm waiting, I generally spend my time thinking about what I need to do, or wondering why things aren't moving more quickly. Perhaps I'll look around and observe the people and location. Seldom do I make the waiting into a relaxing social event. This walk through is a cultural institution I'm happy to see continue if only for the reminder of the importance of truly taking an enjoyable break in ones day.