Clarita's Cocina: Great Traditional Recipes from a Spanish Kitchen

the best Spanish cook book

If you're aware of West Tampa's Spanish -- Spanish, not Cuban -- heritage, then you've probably already eaten some of Clarita's food. She's a legend and the original copies of this cookbook go for hundreds of dollars.This is the cuisine of European Spain, as served to diners in Tampa in the 1950s and 60s, wearing their finest wool suits and most complicated girdles out to eat in the damp heat of South Florida. When the interstate came, this world was nigh-obliterated, alongside many other vibrant ethnic communities, as the Eisenhower administration did its level best to destroy any coherent nonwhite population in any urban area.Pick up this book and taste Oviedo, Santander and the Galician coast.

I have owned my copy of Clarita's Cocina since it was first published. Sadly, it's out-of-print and used copies are getting hard to find. Her recipes came from both Spain and her husband's restaurant, Las Novedades in Tampa. My wife and I ate there twice while we lived in Tampa. Since my wife is a Tampa Cuban and I'm not even Hispanic, I learned all of my Spanish cooking from her mother's recipes and from Clarita's Cocina. The Arroz Con Pollo (chicken with yellow rice) is the most authentic recipe you'll ever find and makes this techy dish not so hard to make. If you love Spanish/Cuban food, please try to find a copy of this book. You can also Google the Las Novedades Restaurant in Tampa and view the many fine photos and text about it's history. It's too bad that Tampa's urban renewal of Ybor City destroyed this wonderful place. I recently purchased a used copy of the book from Amazon as a birthday present for my neighbor and friend, who is Hispanic.

The lady I gave it to was absolutely thrilled to have it. Her husband is from Ybor city in tampa, fl where I believe Clarita, the author, came from...............He loved it also and loved all the cuban recipes that he ate when he was growing up tampa and still loves .... He's 86 years old and now tells his wife what to cook for him from the recipe book !!!!!...............His wife is not Cuban, and they've been married 67 years................The book also arrived in very good condition............looked like nobody had ever opened it !!!! Thanks again.

This classic cookbook from Clarita García, a legendary Tampa chef, is filled cover-to-cover with delicious, foolproof recipes and interesting background stories. Clarita's Cocina is my go-to for the best dishes from Spain, Cuba, and (of course) Tampa, one of the true culinary gems in North America. Highly recommended!

I can't go pick up deviled crabs at the Seabreeze Restaurant on 22nd Street Causeway, Cuban sandwiches in West Tampa at La Teresita or Spanish Bean soup at the Columbia Restaurant in Ybor City anymore; but I can get closer to my Tampa roots, through the authentic recipes found in Clarita's Concina. This cookbook is well written, precise in its instructions and filled with humorous anecdotes. It's packed with traditional recipes and many that are new to me, but I'm anxious to try them all. Buy it, it's well worth the asking price!

Upon moving to Tampa at the age of 15, I was happy to taste the cuban food since many of my friends were of Cuban decent. I like cooking at home and now I have the recipes to create the dishes that I so loved as a kid. I made roast pork tonight and my husband said it tasted cuban. He lived right around Yugo's and he said he went in there to eat almost every day after work.

I have used my copy of Clarita's Cocina for many years. It is by far, the most authentic Spanish recipe cookbook ever. Every recipe I have made is delectable, like my mother used to make! I have purchased this book for my 2 daughters, 2 nieces and my best friend. I've heard rave reviews from them, too. This book is a wonderful way to keep the old, favorite Spanish recipes alive and well. Love it!

Disappointed thought it was Spanish but it was American even thought title a were Spanish weights and ingredients were american