Kuba Kuba provides a nice break

It was cold outside. Even the office was chilly.

We needed a vacation.

The bosses, however, weren’t going to let us go far, so we had to settle for the next best thing: an hour away from the office pretending we were in some far-flung tropical locale.

Kuba Kuba restaurante y bodega - in the Fan District played along with our fantasies.

We arrived during the lunch rush on a chilly afternoon, snagging the last available booth.

Menu offerings include Ensaladas y Aperitivos (salads and appetizers); Huevos (eggs); Emparedados (sandwiches); and Entradas (entrees).

We ordered an egg dish, a salad and a sandwich.

While we waited, we soaked up the Cuban atmosphere: a bright mural, old black-and-white photos and Hispanic rations on shelves.

Lively music doesn’t drown out conversation, nor does the occasional hiss of the espresso machine or clattering of dishes.

Two of our three orders arrived in less than 15 minutes.

The California Huevos ($7.95)—eggs over beans and Cuban bread with Monterey Jack cheese, enchilada sauce, sour cream and avocado slices on top—were satisfying. My co-worker was pleasantly surprised that it was lunchlike, as opposed to breakfasty.

The Avocado Salad ($6.95) was fresh and crisp, with slices of tomato, cucumber and avocado atop chopped romaine.

Fortunately, the salad, like the huevos, was big enough to keep me occupied for a long time, which was good, because a colleague’s Cuban sandwich ($6.95) took another 12 minutes to find its way to the table. You would think it would be fairly obvious that a party of three would want three dishes, but it took a while for servers to acknowledge the sandwich’s absence.

But once it arrived (“a mix-up in the kitchen, señor”), my colleague wolfed it down. It was a bit dry, he said, without a hint of the mustard or cheese promised on the menu. But the roast pork was good.

Because it was the holiday season, and we’d gone several hours without a sugar fix, we decided to splurge on dessert.

The Luz del Sol ($4.95), a two-fer of Flan and Tres Leches Cake, was big enough for the three of us.

Despite the flawed service, the food was good enough that we’ll vacation again at Kuba Kuba next time we need a vacation from work.

Contact Lisa Crutchfield at (804) 649-6362 or .