A little taste of New Hope
By Laura Mortkowitz
The bar inside apparently isn’t enough for the restaurant Havana. There’s also one outside, as well as tables with individual heaters for those chilly nights. The ceiling of the overhang is decorated with different colored globes of light hanging down. Once inside, there’s a stage off to the left for bands to play, the second bar straight ahead and the dining area off to the right.
The best room to eat in is in the front, which has large windows overlooking the front deck, the outside bar area and the street. The pictures on the wall are brightly colored and depict party scenes.
At lunch the restaurant is pretty empty, but that’s the best time to go and eat before the prices are jacked up for dinner.
My recommendation is to skip the appetizers. The meal has plenty of food at a high enough price that ordering more would just be a waste of money. The portions on the plates are enough to rival that of The Cheesecake Factory.
The Open Face Hot Turkey Breast Sandwich is really just pieces of turkey covered in light gravy with two pieces of bread on the side. It’s delicious, tastes a little like Thanksgiving at home and on it’s own is enough. However, it also comes with mashed potatoes — which were soft even with the skin mashed in — and stuffing — which could have been good but didn’t quite make it. For the Rider student, cranberry sauce was an added bonus. However, it’s basically whole cranberries placed in actual cranberry sauce.
The burgers are complete with red onions, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles and a side of crispy French fries. Not enough? You can choose two toppings from five different cheeses, bacon, jalapeños, grilled onions and Italian peppers. Also, the beef is nothing to laugh about: It’s a 10-ounce patty.
If the prices are a little high, just go on Tuesdays when all food and beverages are half price all day during the months of January, February and March. That $12.50 burger dropped to just $6.25, a much more reasonable price for college students. Tuesdays are also Open Mic Night, Mondays are Karaoke Night, and Friday and Saturday nights have live music.
So if the prices are a little high for a college student’s budget, Tuesday is the day to go and experience both the Key West atmosphere of Havana and the town of New Hope.
