this is for a series of posts for stephen starr restaurants including: alma de cuba , barclay prime, butcher and singer , continental midtown & martini bar , the dandelion , el vez , jones , parc , pizzeria stella , route 6 [1] , route 6 [2] , & square burger . stephen starr is clearly a dominant force in thephillyrestaurant scene. and so it's not surprising that he brought in chef douglas rodriguez to be one of the pillars of the empire, as ec at alma de cuba . raised in miami to cuban-born parents, chef rodriguez won a slew of awards in the 80's and 90's, with newsweek selecting him as one of 100 americans that would influence the millennium. designated as a super chef who made latin food haute, he also won a james beard award for rising star. but perhaps more prominent to contemporary foodies, he is the chef-mentor who brought eventual iron chef jose garces to philly. i first dined at alma de cuba a year ago, after the weight of a michigan christmas's week of meals. the gf and i decided to do a sampling of some of the smaller tastes from chef rodriguez. it wasn't too packed when we stopped by before an 8pm showing of elf at the walnut street theater. we were on the 3rd floor, which was more of a private space. bread service chimichurri fresh pandebono was on offer, delightfully crisp and sweet on the outside with some yeasty cheesiness within. the cl