D. Rodriguez Cuba: Taking island flavors up a notch

Re-inventing the cuisine of his native Cuba is what has shaped Chef Douglas Rodriguez’ entire career, and for a guy who’s barely in his 40s, that career spans almost two decades. After all, he was named Chef of the Year, Miami by The Chefs of America at the tender age of 24.D. Rodriguez Cuba is his latest venture. Located in the Astor Hotel on Miami Beach, he’s still playing with flavors always evolving his Nuevo Latino cuisine. At the Astor he’s serving ceviches that use all types of seafood and tropical fruits; tapas like ham croquettes (a Cuban staple) with spiced tomato marmalade; Casabe Flat Breads or “Cuban Pizza” with a yuca crust and an adobo seared tuna with a crunchy Cuban salad that consists of  chayote, radish, pumpkin, cucumber, crunchy boniato and culantro in a mint red pepper vinaigrette.D. Rodriguez Cuba is in the Astor Hotel at 956 Washington Avenue, Miami Beach, FL