FORGET LITTLE HAVANA

It’s tiny but tasty at Bartlett’s Havana’s Pilon

You can find empanadas at a fair number of places around town now, and my favorite place for them, hands down, is Havana’s Pilon. It’s all about the crust — think piecrust.

The tender dough is wrapped around the savory meat filling and then is fried until the crust is crisp and flaky. Whether encasing spicy beef, gooey ham and cheese, or the sweet and savory guava and cheese, the crust is divine.

I’ve eaten many a cheap lunch of an empanada and a side of red beans from Havana’s Pilon since it opened just over three years ago on Madison. Now folks in Bartlett can enjoy them, too: the second Havana’s is now open on KirbyWhitten Road.

FIRST THINGS FIRST

This is a tiny place, with only a counter inside and a mere handful of tables around outside. While we had a pleasant lunch al at a two-top on a sunny Saturday, it’s clearly designed for to-go food; even when you eat in, the meal is packed and sacked for travel. The Downtown location was just as small when it opened, though two tables and a few bar stools against a small ledge at the windows provided a bit more seating. (It was later expanded into space next door). Just be prepared.

THEFOOD

The first thing I ordered, of course, was a couple of empanadas. They were slightly smaller than the ones I order Downtown — just tucked in a bit tighter around the edges — but just as good

While I was told the menu is exactly the same in both restaurants, I noticed new things when I visited Bartlett. One was bacalao

a Puerto Rican fish stew. Mighty tasty, though so thick that it was eaten with a fork instead of a spoon (plastic, sadly). It was The empanada at Havana’s Pilon is stuffed with your choice of beef, chicken, shrimp, ham and cheese or guava and cheese, and fried to perfection. . chock-full of tomatoes, pepper, onions, potatoes and dried cod. I’d have preferred a bit of broth; this stew was more the texture of a chopped vegetable medley.

The Cuban sandwich was great, better than the last one I had downtown. Plenty of ham and pork, sprightly with mustard and pickles, held together with cheese melted when the sandwich is pressed.

Like the bacalao, something I haven’t seen on the Downtown menu is

Mofongo is green plantains, cooked and mashed in a mortar and pestle known as a pilon (aha!) with garlic, olive oil and chicharones, crisp bits of fried pork skin. I ate it downtown once or twice and liked it, but it was covered with a tomato-butter gravy and topped with shrimp. The gravy was a bit bland. But top it with ropa vieja, and you get a whole ‘nother thing — ropafongo.

Ropa vieja (“old clothes” in Spanish) is beef cooked until very tender. It’s shredded when done, which gives it the “stringiness” that lends the name. Peppers and onions provide aromatics; olives lift the dish. Put this over a mound of mofongo and dig in; it’s good stuff. I haven’t tried it, but on my list is the ropa vieja sandwich.

Prices are extremely reasonable — the priciest dish is the ropafongo at $13. Entrées come with two sides and sandwiches with two. Not much can be said for service as you place your order at the counter, pick it up there and clear your own table, but the small staff is friendly and happy to talk to you about the food.

PHOTOS BY MIKE BROWN/THE COMMERCIAL APPEAL Havana’s Pilon menu features a classic Cuban sandwich with roasted pork, ham and Swiss cheese, with mustard and pickles.

Ropafongo at Havana’s Pilon consists of ropa vieja, a shredded beef, served over mashed cooked green plantains with fried pork skin, garlic and olive oil.