For years, when Broward County residents had a craving to eat at La Carreta, they had to travel south across the county line.
But that changed in August when the Miami-based chain, which features Cuban food, opened its seventh eatery at 301 N. University Drive in Pembroke Pines.
The owners broke ground a year ago. They tore down a former Swiss Chalet restaurant to construct their own building.
La Carreta can seat up to 237 patrons in its main dining room, which features a 15-foot-tall mural depicting the courtyard of a Spanish home. A lounge, bakery and walk-up order window also are on the premises.
Many locals said it was about time that the establishment’s proprietors decided to cross the county line.
“I remember eating at one of the La Carretas in Miami many years ago and it was the best meal I had in my life,” said Anna Valsamis, of Davie. “I’m glad they finally decided to come here.”
Felipe Valls Jr., who owns the chain with his father, Felipe Sr., said they weren’t avoiding Broward.
“We’ve just been expanding very slowly,” he said.
One reason the pair decided to head north was because of population studies showing that the area has a large and growing number of Hispanics, Valls said.
A sizable number have settled in Pembroke Pines and the surrounding cities. Many are transplants from Dade County, who moved after Hurricane Andrew struck their homes in 1992.
For these folks, La Carreta needs no introduction. Many are familiar with the restaurant’s authentic Cuban cooking, which got its start 23 years ago on Southwest Eighth Street in Miami’s Little Havana neighborhood.
The name, La Carreta, refers to the wagons used during the sugar cane harvest in Cuba. The contraptions have a large single wheel and are typically pulled by oxen, Valls said.
The family uses a wheel as its logo at the seven locations, he said.
In addition to Pembroke Pines and Southwest Eighth Street, there are La Carreta restaurants in Hialeah, Kendall, Key Biscayne, South Miami and at Miami International Airport. The family also owns the Versailles Restaurant, another landmark on Southwest Eighth Street in Little Havana that opened in 1971.
Valls thinks La Carreta’s popularity is largely due to its sizeable menu, which offers possibly the biggest selection of any Cuban restaurant in South Florida.
Diners can choose from about 120 items. Entrees start at $5.95 for picadillo a la Cubana, a concoction of ground beef cooked in brown Creole sauce and served on white rice with either yuca or plantains.
Other selections include palomilla steak for $10.95, grilled pork chops for $7.75, Spanish boneless chicken topped with boiled eggs and mayonnaise for $6.25 and broiled lobster tail for $19.95.
Meals are served by a staff of waiters and waitresses who are dressed in traditional white guayabera shirts, with red scarves tied around their necks. Rich Kane, of Boca Raton, said he was very impressed with the establishment the first time he visited. “I ordered the whole fried snapper and it was unbelievable,” said Kane, who manages the Bagelmania restaurant in Davie.
Manny Garcia, a manager at the La Carreta in Pembroke Pines, said that’s part of the chain’s appeal.
“It’s hard to come here and not find something that you will like,” he said.
The eatery’s Cuban cuisine appeals to an international clientele, said Garcia, who speaks Spanish, English, French and Portuguese.
“We have a mix of customers,” he said. “Anglos. Hispanics. People from all different cultures. People who enjoy good food.”
La Carreta (954-966-8161) is open from 7 a.m. to midnight Sundays through Thursdays and from 7 a.m. to 1 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays.
