Miami, FL - Each decade has given something memorable and unique to the
City of Miami, but the 80’s took the Magic City to a world class level. After all it was during the 80’s that Miami
Vice gave us Crockett and Tubbs, Don Shula gave us Dan Marino, UM invented
“Swagger” and gave us National Championships, The Mariel Boat lift gave a city
with a lot of Cubans….more Cubans, Oliver Stone gave us Tony Montana, and
Ortelio Cardenas gave us EL MAGO de la FRITA (free-ta).
I was ten, maybe twelve years old the first time I went to
EL MAGO de la FRITA. My family always had
season tickets to University of Miami football, and following each game my
Uncle Manny would always take us to some really great place to eat. Big Manny is the original Miami Foodie; he always
knew all the best places in town. One
Saturday afternoon my brothers, my cousin and I walked out of the Orange Bowl,
piled into my dad’s big conversion van and followed Big Manny’s lead into EL
MAGO de la FRITA. Now if you ask my
brothers or my cousin who UM beat that afternoon chances are they won’t
remember, I know I don’t remember, but what none of us will ever forget is the
home made jugo de melon, fresh cut papita jullianas, the mouth watering pan con
tortilla or the savory Cuban FRITAs we had that day.
On September 8, 1984 Ortelio Cardenas opened the doors to a
little storefront just west of Southwest 57th Avenue and not more
than 10 paces south of the Tamiami Trail.
To the naked eye, it would appear to be nothing more than another Cafeteria, the Cuban community’s version
of an old-school, blue-collar neighborhood diner. Walk in through the door and you find a long
counter top complete with retro cushion-topped steel stools that run parallel
to a wall lined with a row of contoured laminated hardback booths. However, to the trained eye, you see a stage
that is set for a master magician to woo his audience with a command
performance. EL MAGO, translated THE
MAGICIAN, is Cardenas himself. What sets
this little diner apart from the many other cafeterias
in Miami is the magic Cardenas performs by taking simple ingredients like
ground beef, potatoes or watermelons, adding a big measure of passion and pride,
and transforming them into glorious memories for your senses.
For the first trick, ask for a basket of Papitas Julianas
(pa-pee-tas hoo-lee-an-as). Unless you happen to be there on a Saturday, then
you are going to want to add an order of Chicharones (chee-cha-ron-es) as
well. Every Cuban restaurant serves julienned
potatoes with their sandwiches, but only a very select few take the time to
hand wash the spuds, peel them and fry up some fresh Papitas Julianas. These make for a great starter with a
sprinkle of Crystal hot sauce across the top.
However, Saturday is Chicharon day.
Every Saturday Cardenas deep fries thick-cut strips of pork belly, then
chops them up into bite sized, lightly salted morsels of greatness that
crackle, crunch and melt in your mouth all at the same time. Really….crackle, crunch and melt you ask….remember
he’s EL MAGO.
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| Chicharones paired with a fresh Jugo de Melon |
You may want to wash that first act down with a glass of
ice-cold, fresh-squeezed Jugo de Melon (who-go de melon) or watermelon juice. Each morning EL MAGO takes fresh, juicy
watermelon and blends it up with just a touch of sugar, a little bit of ice and
a sprinkle of Awesomeness to deliver
a refreshing cooler that rivals any glass of lemonade you will ever have. If you are in the mood for something a bit
more decadent, try one of EL MAGO’s Batido de Mamey (ba-tee-doe de ma-may).
This rich and creamy shake is made from a tropical fruit that has a unique white chocolate-pumpkin spiced-berry-nutty-honey flavor. I guess God used some magic himself when
creating the Mamey fruit.
Move on to the main act and you will have some choices to
make. You can go with a Pan con Bistec
(bees-tec), the Cuban steak sandwich made with a thin sliced sirloin steak that
often looks like a small blanket, seasoned, grilled on the flat top, and served
on toasted Cuban bread with caramelized onions and a handful of julienned
potatoes, in the sandwich. Maybe you
want to try a Pan con Tortilla (tor-tee-ya), an omelet sandwich served on
toasted Cuban bread. I like to get my Pan con Tortilla with an omelet made of
diced onions, julienned potatoes, Spanish Chorizo and melted cheese. A few weeks back my brother Gaby got a Pan
con Pechuga de Pollo, a grilled chicken breast sandwich served with EL MAGO’s
fresh julienned potatoes on toasted Cuban bread. To no one’s surprise, it was phenomenal. For many years my dad and uncle, my brothers,
our cousins and I have been trying to determine what could possibly make EL
MAGO’s sandwiches so much better than anyone else’s. Our conclusion, it has to be those secret
sauces he uses to douse the sandwiches with as they cook on the flat top. Even the omelet gets a squeeze of one of the
sauces in the beaten egg mix. What’s in
those sauces? Well now; you know a great
Magician never reveals his secrets.
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| EL MAGO's Award Winning Frita Cubana |
Ladies and Gentlemen, it is time for the grand finale, the
moment you’ve all been waiting for, dim the lights, queue dramatic music…..it’s
why I came here….it’s why you are going to come here…..it’s in the name….it’s
the FRITA. Cuba’s version of the
hamburger, a frita is made with a combination of ground beef, ground pork and
Spanish spices. Some say it takes ground
Spanish chorizo, others say it’s a combination of ground onions, garlic and
Spanish paprika, but they all say Ortelio Cardenas’s frita is the best. The purist will take their frita patty served
with chopped onions and julienned potatoes in a toasted Cuban bread bun. You can add a slice of cheese if you like,
perhaps make it a double or have it served a Caballo (ca-ba-yo). Literally translated, caballo is a horse in
Spanish, but in the Latin culinary world, when you order something “a caballo”
your adding a fried egg on top. My
personal favorite was a onetime special EL MAGO had where I was able to add
bacon to my frita with cheese and onions, a caballo, topped with a couple of
shakes of Crystal hot sauce. Oh and
don’t forget the julienned potatoes, those things go on everything. I’m going to recommend you come here with
friends, split a sandwich and definitely make sure you get a frita.
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| Ortelio "MAGO" Cardenas and daughter Martha |
A few years ago Ortelio’s daughter Martha and her husband
Barry launched EL MAGO de la FRITA into the 21st Century. While the food and the counter and the booths
have never changed, EL MAGO has recently enjoyed a facelift and found its way
into the national spotlight. With just a
touch of social media management Martha and Barry have gotten EL MAGO noticed
outside of its regular West Miami community faithful. Last year they participated in the South Beach
Food and Wine Festival’s exclusive Burger Bash, were nominated for the best
burger in Miami and awarded the Title of Best Frita in Miami. This year EL MAGO de la FRITA found itself chronicled
by some of the Nation’s best food and travel authors, and featured by Emmy
award winning reporter Teresa Rodriguez on “Aqui y Ahora,” a weekly TV magazine
on international Spanish media super-giant Univision.
So many things have changed since I first walked into EL
MAGO de la FRITA more than 20 years ago.
Miami Vice went from a good TV show to a bad movie, Dan Marino retired,
UM lost its “Swagger”, like a sick old family pet that everyone loved, the
Orange Bowl was put down, Miami got a baseball team then won two World Series,
and EL MAGO de la FRITA made it big time! Yet through all the years, the good
times, the slow times, and now the big time, Ortelio Cardenas has stayed
true. Driven by his pride and focused by
his passion, EL MAGO de la FRITA continues to deliver the very best Cuban
comfort food you can find. The next time
you get off the Palmetto Expressway and are headed east on Southwest 8th
Street, come in and try a pan con bistec, an order of fresh chicharones or a
FRITA a Caballo. EL MAGO de la FRITA is sure to leave you Floored by Food.
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| Best Pan Con Bistec in Town |
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| Chorizo-Onion-Potato Paradise |
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| EL MAGO's Secret Sauces |
