When Frances Alfonso was a little girl in Miami’s Little Havana she loved going with her parents to eat a Cuban’s version of the American hamburger, known as a frita.
Alfonso said she especially liked going to El Rey De Las Fritas and El Mago De Las Fritas. Now she has opened her very own La Frita Queen restaurant in Homestead.
In 2011, Alfonso was serving her burgers from a food truck. The former veterinary technician sold the truck about a month ago and now pictures of her dressed up like a pin-up model are part of the modern décor of her new restaurant.
“If there is a king there has to be a queen,” Alfonso, 43, said. “I used the traditional recipe and gave it a little spin. A frita is like a Caribbean burger with spices, chorizo … and the secret sauce with the Cuban trilogy: cebolla, ajo and aji,” Spanish for onions, garlic and peppers.
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La Frita Queen restaurant is in the location of the former Broadway Subs. It took three weeks for the Alfonso family to get the place up and running. The menu also has a modern twist. Alfonso likes to use Martins potato bread, because “the difference is enormous. Cuban bread is like a wooden stick.”
The place “doesn’t have the Hispanic frita feel,” Alfonso said. “ It’s comfortable, we have free Wi-Fi, it’s very clean and very modern and the prices are good. You could bring your girlfriend on your first cheap date.”
The bread and beef Cuban sandwich known as pan con bistec is $5.50, or $5.75 with cheese. The frita-style chicken breast sandwich is $4.50. The menu also includes a frita steak sandwich and frita dog with julienne potatoes.
“I’m working on getting a beer and wine license, so that we can start a bar night,” Alfonso said. “A sexy bike night is next.”
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