Frita Batidos Opens in Brooklyn. Ann Arbor's Cuban Street Food Goes National.
Eve Aronoff Fernandez's 15-year-old Ann Arbor concept just opened its third location. In New York.
Frita Batidos has opened in Brooklyn. The Ann Arbor restaurant that has been a perennial Michigan Daily favorite is now serving its signature spicy chorizo frita to New Yorkers, and the early response has been strong.
A restaurant that started on West Washington Street in Ann Arbor in 2010 just won a burger award in the most competitive restaurant market in the country. This is not a franchise expansion. This is validation.
The Concept
Chef and owner Eve Aronoff Fernandez built Frita Batidos around Cuban street food, filtered through more than 25 years in professional kitchens, including formal culinary training. The frita, a spicy chorizo burger topped with shoestring fries and served in a soft egg bun, is the anchor. Batidos (tropical fruit shakes) are the perfect counterpart. A black bean bowl with plantains and the Cuban sandwich fill out a menu that is tight, affordable, and difficult to improve upon.
At 117 West Washington Street, the Ann Arbor original has been running this playbook for 15 years. A Detroit location followed in 2019. Brooklyn is the third, and it opens the question of how far the concept can travel.
What This Means
We pay attention when local restaurants expand, because the direction of expansion says something. Opening in Detroit was a regional bet. Opening in Brooklyn is a national one. Aronoff Fernandez is betting that what she built in Ann Arbor, a specific, personal take on Cuban street food, can hold up against the density of options in New York. Early evidence suggests she is right.
For Ann Arbor's food scene, this story matters. Ann Arbor produces restaurants that people love locally. Frita Batidos is proof that the best of them can compete anywhere.
Frita Batidos' original location is at 117 W Washington St, Ann Arbor. The Detroit location opened in 2019. The Brooklyn location opened October 2025.