Last Orders at Popular Cuban Restaurant
A neon red window sign spelled out “Floridita Cuban Diner” to passing trade on Broadway. The door opened periodically letting in another hungry customer and also the sound of the 1 train as it rumbled past overhead.
“We have a lot of customers coming from New Jersey and the other boroughs, but we’re essentially a community diner,” said the restaurant’s owner, Mr. Raymon Diaz in a telephone interview.
The flagship restaurant of Mr. Diaz’s uncle, a pioneering Cuban immigrant, the Floridita has stood at the corner of 129th and Broadway for almost 40 years. But in future locals may have to go elsewhere to enjoy a papaya milkshake or plate of “mangu,” a Caribbean dish featuring mashed green plantains mixed with olive oil and vinegar.