2011 restaurant and Havana guide update!

Every year the food just gets better.  Two new hits for me was Doctors Cafe, which has fantastic Ceviche, fresh bread, grilled veggies, and decent BBQ ribs.  I hit this place three times this trip.   Next I had the pleasure of dining twice at La Guarida.  Made famous by some old chocolate strawberry movie, this restaurant is real fine dining in Havana.  The service is exceptional, the meals were top notch! My first meal here I started with the snapper carpaccio, unreal thinly pounded snapper in with a lime and cracked pepper dressing. Then I had the orange sauce snapper for my entree, the fish was cooked perfectly, but the sauce was a little on the boring side.  The best part of this first meal was seeing Marvin Shanken waiting in the hallway with his grumpy bear face on.  The second trip the food just got better. I started with the lasagna appetizer, which was a dish of ham, papaya, herbs, and cheese made into a little lasagna.  The main course was the herb baked grouper, this dish is a must have. To finish the strawberry ice cream was awesome.    The walk up the stairs to the restaurant is quite the trip.  Two other places I feel ashamed of not mentioning before are the coffee shop and the micro brewery in Plaza Vieja.  The cafe has it's own roasted beans, and fantastic little sandwiches for really cheap.  I think the service is so bad at the cafe it's almost entertaining.   My suggestion is when you want your bill, just standing up and start leaving!