Habana Libre's modest storefront, with its unassuming vibe and tasty fried entrees, would feel at home on Miami's Calle Ocho: The waitress sings and sways to mambo and cha-cha favorites. Caribbean art and photography, palm tree ornaments and "Pan Cubana" signs evoke the beautiful homeland while the staff banters in Spanish and Spanglish.

The appetizers are heavy on the plantains and yucca root. The main courses stick mostly to the traditional, from the $5 sandwich cubano and ropa vieja to various meats and seafood in Cuban Creole sauce ($10-$19). As a concession to Chicago's love of Mexican cuisine, the kitchen also prepares favorites like fajitas "with a Cuban twist." If you have the appetite, the loot and an hour to kill, consider sharing the slow-simmered paella valencia ($50 serves two, $90 serves four).

I'm hooked on the jibarito—a steak sandwich topped with tomatoes, lettuce and stringy onions served between two fried plantains. It's too tasty to be healthy and so rich that following it up with flan or sorbet would feel redundant. Habana Libre is BYOB, but if you forget the Tecate, you can choose from café, té and Cuban-style apple and pineapple sodas.

Centerstage Reviewer: Justin Sondak