While looking at the menus of the few Cuban restaurants in the area, ropa vieja, which is a beef stew, is a dish that shows up throughout. This dish is the national dish of Cuba and translates to "dirty clothes" (Echarte). This translation may seem off-putting but comes from an old Spanish tale about the dish. The tale goes that "a penniless old man once shredded and cooked his own clothes because he could not afford food for his family. He prayed over the bubbling concoction and a miracle occurred, turning the mixture into a tasty, rich meat stew" (Revolución de Cuba). This tale however does not provide the true origins of the dish, and instead is a story passed down over the years. The true origins of the dish come from over five hundred years ago in Spain, when Sephardic Jews were cooking a meal for Sabbath. Since cooking is not allowed on Sabbath, they would slow cook ropa vieja the night before (Stauffer). This dish also originated as a "make do" dish made with common leftovers. However it slowly became a dish of its own as it grew in popularity. When Spanish colonizers from the Canary Islands came to Cuba in 1857 they brought over ropa vieja where it quickly spread in popularity. This migration is also where the rumor that Cuba stole ropa vieja from the Canary Islands comes from. While ropa vieja has changed slightly on it journey from Spain to various islands in the Caribbean, its base stays the same (First). The authentic version of the dish is made with shredded flank steak cooked in a tomato based sauce with spices and has a rich umami flavor to it. It is typically served with rice and black beans and sometimes with fried plantains. Different variations include adding vegetables to the stew or using different types of meat like chicken or pork. Different spices and sides are used across South America and the Canary Islands based on the readily available food in a geographical region (Killebrew). For a while getting authentic ropa vieja in Cuba proved to be more difficult despite its popularity. With many of the restaurants being government owned, the owners could not source all the ingredients needed or quality ingredients. Because of a shortage of beef at the time in Cuba, chefs had to use lamb or pork as a substitute, despite this substitutions it still was widely popular. However as of 2010 beef became more readily available, thus authentic ropa vieja is once again widely available (Stauffer). With how popular this dish it, it allows Cubans to be reminded of home no matter where they are. Even when Cuba was difficult to travel to ropa vieja allowed people to have a taste of their culture and share that culture with others.
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