This Cuban spot was Miami’s place for churros and chocolate in winter. Now it’s closed
In the past, when the delicious and rare cold nights struck Miami and the iguanas shivered in the trees, much of the city lined up outside the Temple of the Churro.
By “cold nights,” we mean any time the temperature dropped below 65. And by Temple of the Churro, we mean La Palma restaurant in west Miami.
Now, Miami is going to have to find a new spot for churros and chocolate when it’s chilly. La Palma, which had a 24-hour ventanita and served other Cuban fare like fritas, croquetas and medianoches, is permanently closed.
The news was broken by Miami food blogger Sef Gonzalez on his Burger Beast Instagram account. A call to the restaurant showed that La Palma’s number was no longer in service.
Gonzalez wrote on his blog that Las Viñas BBQ will open in the La Palma space, which was once the second Burger King location in Miami. This will be the second location for Las Viñas BBQ, which has a restaurant at 3935 E. Fourth Ave. in Hialeah.
A sign announcing that Las Viñas is “coming soon” now hangs from the restaurant window.
Employees of La Palma, a sister restaurant to the world-famous Versailles on Calle Ocho, paid close attention to weather reports as the calendar crept toward winter. In 2018, restaurant supervisor Pablo Fajardo told the Miami Herald that on a regular summer day, La Palma might sell 40 or 50 orders of churros.
When a cold spell hit, that number usually skyrocketed to almost 1,000 orders during a regular shift.
“When the temperature drops below 65 degrees, that’s when the locura starts,” Fajardo told the Herald. “The numbers are just crazy.”
The sweet desserts were generally made in-house, unless the demand was too great. Then La Palma would get its supplies frozen from Versailles.
The churros were deep fried, then tossed in a bag with sugar and served with thick, hot chocolate for dipping purposes.
La Palma was also featured in “Cuban Coffee Windows of Miami,” a picture book that documented author Jake Katel’s visits to 100 ventanitas in Miami, most of them located on Calle Ocho.
Gonzalez said that he has great memories of not only the churros at La Palma but also of sharing late-night meals of fritas and croquetas there with friends.
“La Palma will be missed,” he said. “But I have a feeling that Las Viñas BBQ will still have churros and hot chocolate. They’d have to be crazy not to, unless they want a pots and pans protest to erupt outside.”
