CUBA IN THE AIR GUANTANAMERA BRINGS A GARLIC SENSIBILITY TO THE TABLE.

Byline: Larry Lipson Restaurant Critic

THINK GARLIC, not spicy, at the new Cuban restaurant Guantanamera in Burbank.

In fact, if you don't like garlic, or are worried too much about garlic breath, better pass up this place, because it's almost impossible to find anything other than dessert that's not laced with garlic.

As for spicy, it's a serve-yourself option.

Ask for hot sauce amd your server will bring a fiery red sauce in a small bowl.

This can come in handy for dipping with such mildly seasoned appetizers as mashed potato balls stuffed with ground beef and deep fried ($5), or similar ground-beef-stuffed yuca ($5).

But the garlic is so very assertive in the meat-stuffed Cuban tamale ($4 each), you wouldn't want to add anything at all to it.

If you're interested in a soup, don't bother with the black bean rendition ($4) here. That's because you'll get a small bowl of it anyway if you decide on choosing the black beans option with your entree.

The soupy black beans - an automatic side dish with a main course - are exactly the same as the black bean soup that can be ordered separately as a starter.

And anyway, both the Guantanamera kitchen's potato-thickened chicken soup ($5) and seafood soup ($8) are so much better, so many notches higher in both texture and flavor.

Even if you pass up the soups here, it wouldn't be wise to have a meal that didn't include an empanada or two ($5).

These are big, chubby, flaky, savory delights, cut into two pieces when served because of their size, stuffed with either ground beef or chicken mixtures and absolutely delicious.

Main courses, generously portioned, available with black beans, fluffy white rice (or a nifty mixture of both called ``congris'') and plantains or yuca, possess that Cuban homey character, especially obvious in a rich wine-soaked oxtail offering ($14) titled ``rabo encendido,'' the traditional shredded beef recipe of ``ropa vieja'' ($13), sliced roasted leg of marinated pork ($14) and flat, well-cooked pork chops ($12).

Untried dishes of interest are the paella ($34) which needs 45 minutes' preparation time, a lamb shank dish ($16) served only on Sundays, a marinated lobster tail recipe ($28) and a specially slow-cooked ``arroz con pollo'' plate ($14) of chicken and yellow rice cooked in a wine sauce that takes at least 30 minutes to prepare.

As a sweet finale, ``flan tumbao'' ($6) - a clever dessert of flan (baked custard) layered with chocolate cake, chilled and cut in a square - is well worth a try.

On the beverage side, you can drink a refreshing Cuban milk shake like ``guanabana'' ($4), which may be made with a mixture of guava and banana; sip a Puerto Rican beer called Hatuey, which is owned by a Cuban family of the same name; or try a mojito from the bar.

One thing for sure, though: When you leave Guantanamera, you'll feel well fed ... and possibly garlic energized.

Larry Lipson, [phone]

larry.lipson(at)dailynews.com

GUANTANAMERA

Food: Three stars - Wine: Two stars - Service: Three stars

Where: 916 W. Burbank Blvd., Burbank.

Hours: Open for lunch from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily, for dinner from 5 to 10 p.m. nightly, to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

Recommended items: Empanadas, stuffed potato balls, beef and olive-stuffed yuca, chicken soup, seafood soup, Cuban tamale, marinated oxtail, marinated roasted pork leg with onions, layered flan and chocolate cake, fruit shake.

How much: Starters from $4 to $8, entrees from $10 to $34, desserts $5 and $6. Full bar. Major credit cards accepted.

Wine list: Limited one-page list with some fair-priced Spanish ($14 to $25) and Chilean ($12 to $18) wines, also a handful of Californians ($12 to $29). Mojitos, however, are the preferred drinks.

Reservations: Suggested, especially on weekends. Call [phone].

CAPTION(S):

photo

Photo:

Guantanamera, in Burbank, offers dishes such as Rabo Encendido (oxtail).

Phil McCarten/Staff Photographer