On a recent trip to Houston, I expected to find nothing to eat but beef and barbecue. Instead, I was pleasantly surprised to find a thriving, vibrant food scene with an incredible variety in restaurants, particularly South American and Caribbean cuisine. I visited several Cuban restaurants, where I happily gobbled up empanadas and stuffed ancho peppers, delighted in the heavenly dessert, tres leches cakea gooey, creamy concoction that alone was worth a venture into Texas.

When I returned to California, Mexican food suddenly seemed pedestrian and I lost my usually insatiable appetite for burritos. I had a new Latin love, but I didn't know where to find it here at home. By chance, I happened to notice a small, inconspicuous restaurant in Palo Alto called La Bodeguita del Medio ("the little bar in the middle of the street"). The menu boasted an experience straight out of Havana, so I visited the first chance I got.

La Bodeguita aims at an upscale Cuban dining experience. With starched, white linens on the tables and lively Cuban music playing, the restaurant accomplishes an easy, casual elegance. My companion and I were served a basket of chewy sourdough bread, accompanied by peanut oil seasoned with habanero peppers, achiote, garlic, and shallots. This was a refreshing change of pace from the ubiquitous saucers of olive oil. Don't let the mention of habaneros scare you; they were only a faint presence, giving the oil just the right amount of heat.

La Bodeguita has a full bar that promotes its specialty Cuban drinks, so I tried the Mojitoa combination of citrus rum, sugar, citrus juice, soda, and a thick layer of fresh mint. I could easily imagine drinking this on a hot, sticky night in Havana. My only complaint was that I could barely taste the alcohol and seemed to finish it in no time. Our waitress recommended that I try the Hemingway, made with citrus rum and soda in a martini glass rimmed with sugar. This drink really hit the spot, making me nostalgic for the trip I've never made to Cuba. My companion ordered a gin martini, which he pronounced the best he'd had in years.

By this time, we thought we ought to actually wash down our drinks with some food so we ordered the crab cakes ($8), which were served with a relish, of pickled vegetables, and two sauces, red pepper and pesto. The crab cakes could have been a little crispier, but they were fresh and tasty. The pickled vegetables, which sounded odd to me, were actually a nice contrast to the spicy cakes.

For entrees, we ordered la tierra y mar ($20) and the oven roasted, double cut pork chops ($16). La tierra y mar (land and sea) included marinated flank steak, fried shrimp, and garlic mashed potatoes. The steak was just as it should be: garlicky and salty, though a tad sinewy. The mashed potatoes were sublimely buttery; with my first bite, I forgot all about cholesterol levels and swore that I would add more butter to my diet. After the next few bites, however, I vowed never to eat butter again. I guess one really can have too much of a good thing. I would advise the chef to add a little more potato to the butter. The shrimp were delicious: lightly battered and fried to the perfect crispness.

The pork chop was everything you want in a chop: thick, juicy, and flavorful. The menu reported that the meat was cooked in a papaya and mango barbecue sauce. I couldn't taste papaya or mango, but no matter. It was such a good blend of sweet and tang that I wasn't about to quibble over ingredients. The chop was accompanied by malanga, mashed sweet potatoes that had a nice texture but were so salty as to be inedible.

For dessert, I hoped for tres leches cake, but alas, it wasn't on the menu. Instead, we ordered key lime pie ($5.50) and chocolate cake with a grand marnier sauce ($6). One taste of the key lime pie and I forgot all about my beloved tres leches. With a cheesecake-like texture and rich lime flavor, this was by far the best key lime pie I've ever tried. The chocolate cakea dense, rich layer cakewas also excellent. The grand marnier added a subtle orange flavor that is always a welcome combination with chocolate.

The service at La Bodeguita was friendly and competent, but it ran on Caribbean time. Don't eat here if you're in a rush. Prices are higher than you might expect: a meal for two runs around $80. If you don't want to spend that kind of money, it's still worth a visit for drinks and dessert. And if you're a cigar aficionado (isn't everybody these days?), La Bodeguita has a cigar divan in the back of the restaurant, complete with dark, woody furnishings and a tiled terrace. La Bodeguita del Medio, 463 California Avenue, Palo Alto, 650.326.7762, www.labodeguita.com.

--Mara Velasco

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