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"Located in the Meatpacking District and opened by chef Carl Ruiz in June, La Cubana was presented as his down-home Cuban outpost; in announcing Ruiz’s death the restaurant said it will start a scholarship foundation for aspiring chefs in his name and remembered him for his "fierce intellect and infectious humor," calling him "a mighty force of down home Cuban cuisine" who lived life to the fullest and cooked with "dancing always" as the most important ingredient." - Stefanie Tuder