Zachary Pincus-Roth
On Monday, Friday and Saturday nights, El Floridita erupts into hot, sweaty, drunken chaos. That's when the dimly lit Cuban restaurant named for a Havana Hemingway hangout hosts a salsa band from 9:30 p.m. to 1 a.m., preceded by an 8 p.m. salsa lesson you can take while waiting for your food. Newbies may feel intimidated by the regulars, who can twirl and twist as if they were born with such moves, but the trombone is loud enough and the mojitos plentiful enough that no one will seem to care. The dinner is pricey (entrees are around $30 on salsa nights), but Cuban classics such as ropa vieja and filete de pollo a la plancha are solid, and consider part of the cost to be your lesson fee. Or you can eat dinner somewhere else and just pay a $10 cover.
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