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Manny Mendez (Illustration by Em Roberts)
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Chewy's Bagels (Photo by Justin Chesney)
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David Crosby (Photo by Glenn Francis via Wikimedia Commons)
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Tres leches cake from Kuba Kuba (Photo courtesy Kuba Kuba)
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Photo via Getty Images
Bagel Time: “We get Chewy’s or Nate’s once a week — a lox bagel with no onion or tomato, because my son doesn’t like onions and I don’t like the tomatoes. We pick it up on our way here, and we have breakfast together on school days.”
Just a Song: “Because of David Crosby’s death, I started listening to everything from Buffalo Springfield to Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. The Beatles, Neil Young, Bob Dylan, Grateful Dead are always in my playlist.”
Bring ’Em Back: “Besides, Mamma Zu’s? I wish some places would open for lunch — I miss Millie’s dinner, I miss Edo’s Squid’s lunch. When it comes to restaurants I remember from my childhood, we always had Capri restaurant, that was a favorite, and O’Brienstein’s.”
Must-orders: “My mom’s tres leches cake, everyone, 100% of people love it. And I think our No. 1 seller is our Cuban sandwich; we sell over 100 a day between lunch and dinner. The thing here is we serve breakfast, lunch and dinner all day, so people can have paella at 11 a.m.”
Friends for Life: “I was 5, almost 6 years old when we moved here from Cuba. I lived at Park and Harrison streets and went to Saint Benedict Catholic School and then went to Benedictine. I’m still friends with all those guys and still hang out with the same crew.”
Kitchen Essentials: “I am always going to have black beans, all sorts of beans, to be honest, and chocolate in the cabinet — dark chocolate. I still eat rice and beans every day and plantains, because they’re there.”
