El Oriental De Cuba

You can’t judge the quality of a Caribbean restaurant in Boston by whether David Ortiz has been there - because, judging by the pictures on the walls, David Ortiz has been to literally every Caribbean restaurant in Boston. But we wouldn’t be surprised if El Oriental De Cuba in JP is legitimately one of his favorites. It’s a small place that makes really big plates of Cuban specialties, and the flaky, oily empanadas might be the best in a neighborhood that has a lot of empanadas. They don’t have a liquor license, but that just makes it a good place to go when you’re not trying to spend too much money.