Hidden Local Gem: Mindy's Cuban Restaurant

Jackson County, NC doesn't strike me, a native, as a culinary wonder and I do struggle to think of "great finds" to share with friends who visit. However, a recent addition - or expansion, really - is quite the gem.

Around a year ago, a bakery opened in one of the most poorly designed shopping centers known to man (this strip of shops is tucked behind the Zaxby's drive-thru with limited parking and visibility from the main road). Mindy's Bakery was owned by a Cuban family who made wonderful desserts from scratch. They offered giant slices of a variety of cheesecakes, puff pastries like eclairs and cream horns, custom cakes and a variety of sweets. I'd been there a few times but it was so out-of-the-way I often forgot about it, and then, like too many shops that have been sucked into the strip, it disappeared. 

But, this weekend, we found them again! They have moved and expanded to be not just a bakery, but a Cuban restaurant serving six+ entrees, a variety of Latin sides and their wonderful desserts. And this is exciting for several reasons: 

1. The desserts at Mindy's Bakery were great - who doesn't love scratch-made flan?
2. Jordan works at a deli whose signature sandwich is a Cuban (traditionally includes roasted pork, ham, mustard, pickles, crusty bread - all hot pressed) and we love to try other versions, especially authentic ones
3. The owners are a husband and wife team whose children run the front-of-house and one of the youngest (of their12 children), Andres, was recently a contestant on "The Next Food Network Star" which we watched religiously. We've spotted Andres around before, but never had a chance to talk to him, much less try his/his family's food.

For the locals, Mindy's is now located in East Sylva Shopping Center (why there are directional districts in a town of less than 30,000 I'll never know) beside Jack the Dipper and Robbie's Charburger. It's a discreet location but they have brought Caribbean brightness to the area. The door is painted a vibrant turquoise and there's vintage patio furniture and colorful benches outside. The interior of the restaurant features just as much Cuban flair with bright colors, vintage furnishing and fun retro styling with sheet metal. 

They focus on simplicity and authenticity at Mindy's. As I said before, their menu is small with three "meat entrees" and three sandwiches, along with sides like tostones, sweet plantains and beans and rice. We both ordered traditional Cubans with beans and rice that were made to order by the husband and wife. While we waited, we had a great talk with whichever chef wasn't manning the cook top at the time. Jordan and the owners discussed the finer points of Cuban sandwiches and I told them how I was already planning to come back to order tostones. 

Our $7.50 sandwiches arrived and were delicious and huge. In the traditional three compartment clamshell, they filled the large section to the brim with fresh black beans and rice, while the gigantic sandwich covered the other two compartments. And after hearing about my love of tostones (which are plantains that are fried, smushed flat and then fried again) they gave us a free order of the biggest, most flavorful tostones I've ever had. So my first suggestion for your trip to Mindy's: bring your appetite or a friend to share your meal with. 

They explained to us that they make their Cuban pork each day and marinate it in a homemade sauce, which they gave us a side of for taste-testing and tostone-dipping (ask for it!). The sauce is a tangy, garlic and citrusy blend that we think gets its body from tomatillos (since they were already talking shop with us, we didn't get too nosy about secret family recipes). While the flavoring is different, their pork reminded me so much of pork my family would can at home. It fell apart with the slightest touch and tasted like it had been cooked slowly with care.

Their bakery case is still impeccable; I can't wait to try the "flan-cake" that looks like a tres leches/flan hybrid! And they still do custom cakes and will be making some great dishes for Thanksgiving and Christmas (one will be a pecan caramel cheesecake pie!). And they're fine tuning their offerings and menu and will hopefully be adding some other traditional treats like Cuban coffee. 

Mindy's is only open Wednesday- Saturday (11:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.) because the owners are full-time students, so get your Cuban fix while you can. We arrived right after opening on Saturday and mostly had the dining room to ourselves which gave us a lot of time to talk to the owners about their restaurant, their family and their food. And my second tip, straight from the owner: don't let their serious expressions fool you, they love to talk and are super friendly. As we were finishing up, more people started filtering in and placing huge orders and they had a sincere talk with everyone. 

I'm a full supporter of small businesses and want to see this family and their love-filled restaurant succeed. If you're a local or live or are traveling through Western North Carolina in general (I doubt there are five Cuban shops in all of WNC) pop into Mindy's. They are cooking their culture with their children and sharing inexpensive, huge, flavorful meals with their community.