Hey, Lucy! Houston 'Babaloos' at Cuban operation

Nation's Restaurant News, Nov 12, 1990 by Tracey Woodard

HEY, LUCY! Houston 'Babaloos' at Cuban operation HOUSTON -- Atchafalaya River Cafe creator Dick Tanenbaum has come out of retirement to open Babaloo Cucina Cubana, a 500-seat Cuban-American restaurant located near Houston's Galleria shopping center.

Though Tanenbaum swore that he was out of the restaurant business for good after selling his four Atchafalaya units to Ninfa Laurenzo's RioStar Corp. for about $6 million in November 1989, the Cuban-born restaurateur just couldn't shake the idea that a Latin American-themed restaurant, along the lines of Cajun-flavored Atchafalaya, would be an instant success.

So, early in October, using recipes from his mother's kitchen and an interior designed by wife Glenna, Tanenbaum launched Babaloo in an 18,100-square-foot building formerly occupied by a Pritikin Center.

"It's a niche in the market that hasn't been done on a large scale," Tanenbaum, 43, said. "The little Italian places, the little Chinese places, have all been made into chains. Besides, I really enjoy arroz con pollo and fried bananas and black bean soup, and Mom only makes them twice a year."

And even though Tanenbaum had a good idea what he wanted on Babaloo's menu, he and his wife made trips to Miami, Los Angeles and New York to check out current trends in Cuban cuisine and decor anyway.

Little Havana in Miami held the most promise for Tanenbaum, who was unimpressed by the other two cities.

"I was really disappointed in L.A.," he said. "The food was more Latin American or even Mexican, and the decor was just L.A."

And the restaurants in New York were "too traditional," he said.

So with the help of his Spanish-born chef, Pedro Sacristan, who trained at Manzanares del Real in Madrid and formerly served as executive chef at El Proteo Cuban restaurant and the Fairmont Hotel in Miami, Tanenbaum fine-tuned his menu until it included 39 "Cuban-American" entrees.

"We Anglicized it -- that was my intent all along," he said.

Early best sellers on the menu include the Babaloo Sampler, an appetizer platter that includes a tamal cubana en hoja, croquetas cubana, chicharones de pollo, empanandillas and tortilla vasca for $8.95; filet de pescado grille relleno (a stuffed grilled fish) for $10.95; and arroz con pollo (chicken and yellow rice with green peas and sweet pimentos) for $9.50.

Each table receives baskets of fried plantains served with two sauces, a sweet salsa and a garlic cream cheese. Most entrees are served with plantains and yellow rice.

The drink menu features nine custom drinks, including the Babalooooo, a mixture of amaretto, liqueur, vodka, orange juice, cranberry juice, sweet 'n sour topped with sparkling soda and garnished with pineapples, oranges, lemons and limes for $5.50; the La Grande Pina Colada with rum, coconut syrup, pineapple juice and orange juice and garnished with layered liqueur for $5.50; and the Hav-A-Na Shooter with liqueur, vodka, blue curacao, rum, pineapple juice and orange juice for $4.95.

Check averages are targeted at $11.62 at lunch and $17.87 at dinner.

Tanenbaum has spent $1 million on renovations of the building, which required many structural changes, all done in only 62 days.

"If you remodel an existing location, you have to do it extensively," he said.

And he did. Besides making two of the workout rooms into banquet rooms, Tanenbaum also remodeled the health center's dressing rooms into a massive, 7,000-square-foot kitchen.

But he left the decorating to his wife, whose inspiration came from a 1950s television show and some good, old-fashioned guessing.

"I kept asking myself 'What would Havana be like today if Castro weren't there?'" said Glenna Tanenbaum, who owns and operates Interiors Etc. in Houston. "But I also asked 'What would Lucy and Ricky think of this?'"

At the age of 14, Tanenbaum and his family -- who owned a department store in Cuba -- were forced out of the country when Castro confiscated their fortune.

Dubbed as high-tech tropical, the decor features spectacular turquoise, hot pink and canteloupe accents. A bright, 38-foot skylight illuminates the main dining room, which seats 350 and includes metal palm trees with stuffed parrots, columns with metal fronds on top and silhouettes of a Latin band.

Turquoise banquettes line canteloupe-colored walls set off by a custom-designed banana leaf carpet. The colors are enhanced by hostesses wearing short, black dresses with brightly colored ruffled sleeves. Recorded Latin music is played during the week, while live entertainment is featured on weekend nights.

The restaurant's mascot, a cross between Carmen Miranda and Lucy Ricardo, greets customers from the front of the menu, a custom-designed entryway carpet and neon-colored T-shirts for sale behind the hostess station.

Tanenbaum is reluctant to talk about future plans for the concept but admits it is ultimately expandable "a la Atchafalaya." But, he said, there are a couple of other things he'd like to try first.