LENOIR, N.C. — Iris Bender moved to the United States more than 20 years ago from Cuba. Sixteen years ago she decided to move to Lenoir. She loves to cook.

What You Need To Know

Taste of Havana brings Cuban food to Lenoir

The owner puts pictures around from Cuba to introduce people to the sights

She hopes people come in and ask questions to learn about her hometown

"My mom, my grandma, my aunt, just great cooks all the way around," Bender said.

It's something she always knew would be there growing up — a family meal around the table. It just made sense, she says, that she would open her own restaurant bringing those special Cuban meals to the area.

"This is flank steak, and the flank steak, I use it for two of our dishes," Bender said. "One is vaca frita, which is a fried choice of this meat."

That is meat she cooks for 12 hours. Each meal on the menu is picked special.

"In the Caribbean, you get all these things that just grow in the fields. It's what we eat. It's what we have, so we learn to cook with them, and it's what we serve," Bender said.

A favorite, she says, is the Cuban sandwich.

"It's got the ham, the pickles, the pork. It's got the Swiss cheese, and it was pressed," Bender said.

She doesn't just introduce people to Cuban food but also to the sites from Cuba. Inside each of the tables are several pictures from the area.

"It's my contribution back to everything I took when I came in," Bender said.

So she says whether you are looking for some bright colors or some freshly made Cuban meals, she is hoping you come on by and ask questions.