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If you remember the Charlie Rose incident, the Underground Gourmet received a free mid-course of pasta when their chicken entrée was poached by the talk-show host. Generous, right? Now a tipster reports that the owner of a certain Italian restaurant on Ninth Avenue in Hell’s Kitchen is placating steamed customers with something a bit more exotic.

The report:

Our waitress forgot the main course which was a salmon puttanesca (one of the specials of the day). I could hear the owner (35ish, Latin) admonish her. He then came over to our table with three cigar tubes saying “Here, please take these; they’re Cubans. Just don’t tell anyone or else I’ll get in trouble.” The tubes say Romeo Y Julieta—Havana, Cuba.

What’s next? A lagniappe of armadillo meat? —Daniel Maurer