Boteco in Henderson has a specialty straight out of Havana

“It’s an interesting story,” said Marcus Fortunato who, with his wife, Alessandra, owns Boteco restaurant. Fortunato was in Havana a few months ago at the El Figaro restaurant, a favorite of former Cuban President Fidel Castro and such luminaries as Frank Sinatra, and met Chef Alex Luco. Years ago, the story went, Castro was hosting then-French President Francois Mitterrand when Mitterrand said he wanted to dine with the people, not in a palace. Castro took him to El Figaro, and for the occasion, chef Gilberto Smith Duquesne (grandfather of Luco) whipped up a lobster dish with Cuban coffee, Kahlua, mushrooms and cilantro. “He loved it,” Fortunato said, “and had another.” Luco taught Fortunato to make it, and now he’s serving it at Boteco.

“We want the neighborhood to try something they can’t get anywhere else,” he said. “The customers love it. It is unique.” Boteco is at 9500 S. Eastern Ave. in Henderson.

— Heidi Knapp Rinella