Food, Blind TastingNicolas JimenezSeptember 07, 2020Arietefood, Blind Tasted, Goya, Cuban food, chef, Michael Beltran, Catalina, El Sembrador, Mambo, frozen food

Blind Tasting: Miami chef Mike Beltran tries frozen croquetas (Goya, El Sembrador, Catalina, Mambo)

Food, Blind TastingNicolas JimenezSeptember 07, 2020Arietefood, Blind Tasted, Goya, Cuban food, chef, Michael Beltran, Catalina, El Sembrador, Mambo, frozen food

Chef Michael Beltrán is the chef partner at Ariete Hospitality Group, the company behind Miami restaurants Ariete, Chug's Diner, Nave, Taurus and The Scapegoat. He was named a semifinalist for a 2020 James Beard Award (Best Chef: South).

Chug's, Mike's Cuban-American diner concept, is known for (among other things) its croquetas (Cuban-style croquettes that Mike’s restaurant makes with either ham or short rib fillings). Especially outside of Miami, you don't always have access to restaurants that serve croquetas. So we had Mike blind taste five brands of frozen croqueta (ham croquetas from Goya, El Sembrador, Mambo and Catalina, along with cod croquetas by La Milpa as a bonus) to see how they stack up against one another.

Mike is also the host of Pan Con Podcast, where he and guests talk about food, craft, craft, culture, entrepreneurship and more.

Pan Con Podcast

Boxer Robeisy "El Tren" Ramírez on fighting to regain the WBO featherweight title and antagonizing Cuba's dictatorship

Shari Bayer, author of "Chefwise: Life Lessons From Leading Chefs Around The World"

Ariete Hospitality wine director Adrian López on the beverage industry in Miami, his development as a sommelier, wine trends

Lucy López and Mike Beltrán on how cancer impacts families and turning pain into action

South Florida fine dining blogger & podcaster Brenda Popritkin of The Whet Palette

Andrew Friedman, author of "The Dish: The Lives and Labor Behind One Plate of Food"

Kush Hospitality founder Matt Kuscher on leadership, Miami summer, urinal ice

Catch up with chef Mike Beltran on Ariete Hospitality's new Mediterranean concept, a cigar bar opening, a new dog

Co-founder of Per'La Specialty Roasters Chris Nolte on the coffee industry and starting a small business

"The Walls Have Ears" is playwright Robby Ramos' reflection on the Castro revolution's impact on the Cuban nation and families like his

Featured

Blind Tasting: hummus with chef Sasha Ariel Ullman (Sabra, Boar's Head, Ithaca, Whole Foods, Cedar's)

Blind tasting frozen beef empanadas with chef Louie Estrada of My Cuban Spot (Goya, Kikuet, Publix, Wild Fork)

Blind Tasting honey ham with butcher Jason Schoendorfer (Oscar Mayer, Healthy Ones, Hillshire Farm)

Blind Tasting frozen breakfast sausages with butcher Melanie Schoendorfer (Banquet, Jimmy Dean, Smithfield, Jones Dairy Farm)

Blind Tasting bacon with butcher Jason Schoendorfer (Oscar Mayer, Hormel, Jimmy Dean, Publix, Smithfield)

Nicolas Jimenez

Nicolás Antonio Jiménez is the founder of DADE. He’s always working through his rotation of writer, podcast host, podcast producer, photographer and editor hats.

A Miami native and graduate of the Missouri School of Journalism, Nick’s background includes work in democracy promotion, human rights advocacy, content marketing and magazine journalism (most recently as senior editor of Cigar Snob).