Should I dare say I live in two states? Hmm, that might be a stretch, but the frequency in which I have been in and out of New York City these past few months would tell you otherwise.

This time, instead of just visiting family and friends, I headed to The Lotos Club to celebrate the winners of this year’s Leisure Lifestyle Awards and the Wherever Awards from whereverfamily.com. The awards celebration took place on Tuesday, which called for part of the production team to arrive on Monday. However, as mentioned above, I’m always in the city, as I was before the event for a friend’s baby shower, so my commute was much shorter than my colleagues.

I arrived at WestHouse Hotel in Midtown Manhattan on Monday afternoon; after a quick check-in, I headed to the 25th floor, where my room was located. The room featured a comfortable king-sized bed, a desk with a mirror that reflected the iconic Big Apple’s skyscrapers, and all the amenities I could need on a quick business trip. After finishing up some emails and starting to prepare for the next day, I was pleasantly surprised by my boyfriend, Nathan, originally supposed to arrive at the event the next day. We went down for a sunset stroll and to enjoy the liveliness the city had to offer during Pride month; although we lived in the city for a few years, we always feel like tourists when we stay in hotels instead of a relative’s home. Nonetheless, it will always be home.

In the mood for some Caribbean food, we headed to Eighth Avenue in hopes Sophie’s Cuban Cuisine was still open, but we didn’t quite make it; we walked the block a few times but nothing caught our interest. Almost settling for some good ‘ole Chipotle, we walked past Sophie’s again — this time noticing live Cuban music echoing from another restaurant literally three doors down. The menu looked interesting and outside seating was available, so we opted to give it a try. Definitely hit a jackpot!

With two locations in Manhattan and Queens, Guantanamera features popular Cuban dishes, delicious drinks and amazing live entertainment. I have fond memories of being a little girl and listening to salsa classics on Saturday mornings while helping with weekly chores. One of the songs was “Guantanamera,” a song originally about a girl from Guantanamo finding out about her boyfriend’s infidelity and later turned into a national pride anthem for Cubans all over the world. Anyway, this blog should be about the dinner … .

We each had a mojito — one of the most recommended items online — while we decided what to get. I opted for a pineapple mojito while Nathan tried the classic. I’m not sure if it was an end-of-day kind of effort on the bartender, but I’ve definitely had better ones. The food is a different story. For starters, we shared the Yuquita Frita (fried cassava with cilantro sauce) and the Tostones Rellenos (stuffed fried green plantains with shrimp and Cuban sauce).

For my entrée, I had to give the Guajira a try. The dish consisted of stuffed chicken breast with sweet plantain and mozzarella cheese on tomato sauce with sautéed peppers, onions, mushrooms and zucchini. Nathan went the classic route with the Ropa Vieja, beautifully served in a tropical plantain basket. Both of our dishes came with a side of rice. Go ahead, admit your mouth watered reading this. My pictures don’t do the food any justice, and the service was excellent.

We skipped dessert and decided to walk to the nearest CVS Pharmacy to get water before heading back to the hotel. Few are the occasions where we get to feel and experience the city without it being a family function or event, so we make sure to make the best of them. We even ran into one of Nathan’s old co-workers while walking around.

Now you know where to go if you’re in the city for meetings or on a leisure trip and want heartwarmingly delicious Cuban food.

— Yasser Ogando, advertising & production manager