Name our 20th Mojito!
July 5, 2010
With the celebration of our 5th birthday last week and all of the menu changes (for the better) over the last few months, we began thinking about our drink menu. From Dragonberry to Coconut, mojitos have been staple of success for us over the last 5 years. With that said we are ready to debut our 20th Mojito chosen by YOU!
Here’s what you do:
Step 1: Become a fan on facebook (and tell all of your friends too 
)
Step 2: Go to our photos tab and under the photo album “Name our 20th Mojito” Post a comment with your drink recipe. Don’t forget to name it!!
Step 3: Get Votes! Have all of your friends “like” your recipe.
Each week Mojito with the most likes will get prepared and tasted by our staff. If there is a tie the staff will vote on the Mojito of the week which will also be featured as our drink of the week.
At the end of 4 weeks our staff will re-make all 4 drinks of the week and vote for our 20th mojito!
Wait it doesnt end there! We have prizes!
The finalist each week can come in for the week their recipe made the finals, and have a “drink of the week” on us!
The final Mojito that gets chosen will not only have a little place on our menu, you will also be the proud owner of a brand new Ipod Touch complete with the Cocktails app for the bartender in you!
Contest Starts today July 5th. The first round of finalists will be announced on July 15th. Contest ends August 5th with winner announced on August 12. The only requirement is that since it is a mojito it must have mint.
Ready? Set? MOJITO!
Yelp Review by Joe D.
June 17, 2010
Virginia Beach, VA
I had the opportunity recently to sample Havana’s new menu by Chef Paul Holbrook at the Red Mill location with fellow Yelper’s Naoma D. and Alison C. and I’m so glad I didn’t pass it up. Our tasting covered all aspects of the menu salads, appetizers, entree’s and deserts. Here’s what we tried.
Margarita Ceaser – The dressing changes this from an ordinary salad to a one with some zip.
Serrano Ham & Manchego Croquesttes – I dare say one of my favorite appetizers of all time. I could become totally addicted to these. They taste absolutely wonderful.
Caribbean Conch Fritters – I thought these were kind of plain. I can’t put my finger on it.
Sugar Cane Skewered Shrimp – Another WOW moment. These shrimp were excellent and coated in a pineapple salsa.
Ropa Vieja – This was a beef stew served in a tomato broth with peppers. This was good, but IMOP another item that needs a little more “ump” to kick it into gear.
Cumin & Pumpkin Seed Encrusted Grouper – One a scale of 1-5 I want to give the Grouper a 5. I really do, but it’s just not quite there. Definitely a 4.5. The presentation and texture of the fish is outstanding. It’s a great piece of fish. However there’s one tiny little thing missing that keeps it from going straight over the top. Maybe some citrus…
Guava Barbecued Baby Back Ribs – You know how you go to a rib place and they say the meat falls right off the bone, and then it doesn’t. NOT HERE. These ribs were unbelievable The meat was very lean yet juicy and covered with guava BBQ sauce. They also come with tobacco onion rings and an apple jicama cole slaw. They were hands down the hit of the evening. If you like ribs you have got to try them at Havana.
Last but not least was the desert called Banana Dolce. It consisted of several scoops if vanilla ice cream with caramelized banana sections…covered in a rum and then set on fire! Wow!!! I’m not much of a desert eater but I went back for seconds on this one. Awesome!
It’s such a pleasure to go to a restaurant where you can tell everyone involved from the kitchen to the floor staff cares. I want to thank Keith Berger and his entire staff for the first class visit and I’m looking forward to coming back very soon.
HAVANA at Redmill Teams up with Chef Paul Holbrook
May 21, 2010
The past sixty days Havana at Redmill has been through many changes. The biggest change is the teaming up with Chef Paul Holbrook. With this addition the new management team has over seventy years experience to make Havana at Red Mill a success it has always been. Welcome Chef Holbrook!
Dedication, passion, and adaptability are what Paul Holbrook says makes him a great chef. With an extensive background in seafood and southwestern cuisine, Chef Paul comes to Havana at Redmill with over 22 years of experience.
Key West Tuna
An upstate NY native, Chef Paul obtained a degree from S.U.N.Y at Cobelskill. He moved to Hampton Roads in 1993 to pursue opportunities in a larger market. Sinc
e then he has graced the kitchens as the Head Chef of both 501 City Grille and Coyote Café, Executive Chef of Schlesinger and General Manager/Head Chef at Tautogs.
After only four weeks at Havana at Redmill Chef Paul has reinvented the entire menu including desserts. He has set higher standards for plate presentation and con
tinues to refocus the food true to Havana’s mission statement: American Café with a Cuban twist. “I’m most excited about the
potential of Havana,” Says Chef Paul “the menu I created is authentic and true to our name. There is simply not another restaurant that is comparable in the area.”
Chef Paul has cooked for such famous faces as Paula Dean, Bruce Hornsby, Eddie Money, Madaline Albright, Dixie Carter, Tim Reed and more.
In his time away from the kitchen, Chef Paul enjoys restoring old cars, playing with his great danes Morgan and Bradley and spending time with his wife Mary Beth in their Virginia Beach home.
Come and enjoy our fresh new menu. NEW MENU
Do You Plantain?
April 28, 2010
You work too hard to cook every night!
Let us prepare dinner for you Thursday April 29th, when proceeds from your check will go to Access Aids. They could not conduct all of the comprehensive services and programs they provide to individuals impacted by HIV/AIDS without the support of the Hampton Roads community. The support provided by local churches, civic groups, and volunteers ensures that programs will continue.
Besides, you might want to stop in and see what we are now serving to our guests alongside the bread and honey chipotle butter! (Plaintain Chips, anyone?)
Please take a minute and watch (and share) the video below?
The Art of Bread Pudding
March 24, 2010
Over the course of a couple months I had repeatedly played with different ways and ideas of creating a bread pudding that is both moist and flavorful. You want your bread pudding to be extremely moist, but not runny, and of course no one wants it to be dry. This method involves a little more work, but the end result is my favorite of the bread puddings I have made.Cream base for bread:
Separate your eggs, reserve egg whites for other use. Take your egg yolks and whip in the vanilla extract, brown sugar and cinnamon. Place your heavy cream in a small sauce pot and bring up to a boil, then remove it from the heat. Temper your egg mixture with the hot cream. Place the sauce over a double boiler, while continuously stirring until it becomes thick like heavy cream again.
Are You Missing Out?
March 10, 2010
Have you had Havana at Red Mill’s Homemade Chocolate Chip Brownie with Vanilla Ice Cream and Chocolate Ganache? If not, you’re missing out!
The sauce is very simple to make at home and is versatile in so may ways.
- Let it cool slightly on the counter top, and then coat fruit such as strawberries, raspberries
- Coat cookies or pretzels for in evening snack.
- Put it on ice cream, just use your imagination.
Whether your just beginning to learn to cook or you are a veteran, my advice is to just try to feel your way around the kitchen. Imagine in your mind the way something might taste, and experiment with it. Sometimes you win sometimes you lose, but from my experience, when I really think something will taste delicious in my mind or on paper, I’m usually pretty successful. So try to be creative, you never know what might taste delicious and what won’t unless you experiment.
4 oz of chocolate chips
2 cups Heavy Cream
Butter (optional)
Bring the cream to a boil. Once cream comes to a boil, remove from the heat. Whisk in the chocolate chips in until sauce is smooth. You could whip in about an ounce or so of butter and it will give the chocolate a very nice sheen.
What dish would you create with this chocolate ganache?
Earthquake in Chile Affects Food Industry
March 3, 2010
Valparaiso Seaport
The effects of any natural disaster around the world could have direct impact on a chef and the restaurant world as a whole. The recent earthquake in Chile has proven to do just that. Although the extent of the damage within the country could never be less important than the Havana Red Mill restaurant I work in here in Virginia Beach, we shouldn’t lose sight of what the Chilean people are going through and should lend a helping hand if at all possible, even with a small donation.
Standing up and helping in times of catastrophe is what makes humanity a beautiful thing.
Stone Fruit imported from Chile
With that being said, I have now come to a few road blocks within my own job. This time of year is summertime in Chile and they become the major exporter of fruits to North America, which are not available year round in the states. The earthquake has caused the Santiago International Airport to close and although some flights have resumed the flights to transport the produce to the states have not. The Pan American Highway has seen a significant amount of damage to roadways and bridges, which is the main road to get the produce from the farms to the airport or the Valparaiso seaport for shipment. This has put a major halt on the movement of stone fruits, and avocado’s, items I rely heavily on. The seaport in Valparaiso has seen significant damage as well, and the workers have switched to assessing the damage, instead of shipping. We should be expecting certain things to increase in price as the availability will go down, and that poses some minor problems for us as a restaurant. Where to get the products if they cant ship them, and how much will it cost.
In a sense it poses headaches for the food service industry, but Chile will feel the effects physically and economically the most, with the possible water contamination, which will halt produce production, which could affect a 3 billion summertime business, as well as the damages to the roads and ports.
We should keep the people of Chile in our thoughts, as they deal with these difficulties in their homelands.
How did news of the earthquake affect you? What relief organization do you want to share with others to encourage donations?
Emotional American Idol Waitress
February 17, 2010
So the long Virginia Beach work day at Havana Red Mill is done. My boy is down for sweet dreams and my wife is asleep as well. Now some “me” time. I turn on my TV.
Yes, I am a closet American Idol fan.
My Havana Red Mill Nightmare by Keith Berger
February 6, 2010
One of the greatest part of owning a restaurant is that its not a typical behind the desk same thing day in and day out. When I say I love the “don’t know what is going to happen job” trust me I don’t mean this 100%! Last night the perfect storm was brewing. We didnt have all the staff on hand (and with the recent snow storm, people have been missing their Havana Red Mill fix) so the reservation book started filling more than usual.
Not one seat available and drinks from the bar are taking forever! Then there’s that one table. It was her birthday. They asked for drink #1, we just ran out, asked for drink #2, needed some of the same ingredients- we’re out. Then they ask for a bottle of wine that has been discontinued, so of course we do not have it. OUCH! I like to say I give great customer service but with everything running in my head this did not happen. They didn’t like one of the dishes, I tried my usual customer service tactics, but just kept getting deeper and deeper and ignoring the “stay away” sign that they would have been more than happy to flash.
She was telling me to stop making excuses and he was telling me about his 18 year experience in this business and how to run a place all in three minutes. They were in the right and probably will not come back in a while. All I can say to them is that I sincerely apologize.
Special thanks to my regulars (who know how this was an unusual night) who cut limes for us at the bar! Wow, now that’s customer service.
