Siboney Cuban Cuisine

Longtime friends and first-time restaurateurs Julio Perez and Jose Luis Hernandez tapped Cuban-born chef Guillermo Numa to turn out traditional fare on the edge of Bucktown. Neither the food nor the decor is particularly remarkable, but appetizers like tostones (fried pounded green plantains) and bolitas de yuca, fried balls of cheese-filled mashed yuca, are as good as fried street food always is. Mains like pounded flank steak with chimichurri sauce and garlic-rubbed shrimp are simple successes, but swordfish and pork tenderloin are both tough and dry. Desserts, too, feel like a crapshoot: Play it safe with a café con leche.