Cuban cuisine has been enjoyed in many American cities with a significant Cuban-American population for many years now. Although Cuban cuisine may not be as familiar to Americans as Mexican food, Cuban restaurants are becoming popular in American cities that didn't have them before. As Cuban Americans have settled in communities outside of areas where they have a large population such as Miami and New Jersey, Cuban eateries in these new communities have opened. Additionally, Cuban cuisine cookbooks are found in bookstore shelves where other cookbooks are stocked.

At its core, a typical Cuban dish consists of black beans and rice with a choice of beef, pork, chicken, or seafood. Other foods such as yuca (root vegetable) and platanos (bananas) are also commonly served with a meal. The cuisine is strongly influenced by Spanish, African, and other Carribean foods. For example, Spanish paella is often found in Cuban restaurant menus. In Cuba and in many Cuban-American communities, the cuisine is called comida criolla (creole food) because some of the root vegetables and fruits that are native to the Carribean are typically served with many Cuban meals.

If you would like to savor Cuban food but are unsure where you can find a Cuban restaurant near you, a recommended source to check out on the web is called Three Guys from Miami. This site is put together by two brothers and a friend who have travelled all over the country reviewing Cuban restaurants. They provide a listing of all the restaurants they've visited. The site is highly entertaining and includes some stories behind the origins of Cuban dishes.

For Cuban recipes, a cookbook titled Memories of a Cuban Kitchen by Mary Urrutia Randelman is recommended. The book not only offers many recipes but many anecdotes about the origins of these recipes.