British actor Michael Caine is known for riveting performances in dozens of movies including The Dark Knight, Inception, Austin Powers: Goldmember, and, perhaps most Oscar-worthy, A Muppet Christmas Carol. The silver screen veteran is also a bit of an aspiring mini-mogul in the restaurant business with five eateries in London, and one failed attempt at South Beach Brasserie on Lincoln Road. Most importantly, he is a raging communist intent on taking over Cuba by seducing the population with platters of overpriced fish and chips.
Or at least that's what he fears Miami thinks.
According to the UK's Daily Express, Caine had plans to expand his restaurant business to Cuba, but scrapped the idea after talking to a local exile buddy (he lives in a penthouse in Miami Beach part of the year). "I said to him, 'I'm thinking of going to Cuba,'" he told the paper. "He said, 'Don't.' I said, 'Why not?' He said, 'They will burn your restaurant down if you go to Cuba... [for] being friendly to Castro.'"
The idea of opening a restaurant in Cuba isn't terribly unusual since Britain doesn't have an embargo with the island, and there are several Brit-owned businesses on the island (I stumbled across a few myself last time I was there.) It would, however, be the first instance of a celebrity-owned eatery.
But anyone who would attempt to burn down Caine's Cuban culinary wonderland would have to go to the island to do it. And while there they would have to eat thereby contributing to Cuban business under Castro rule. In conclusion, anyone who wants to incinerate the knighted actor's tropical restaurant dreams is actually a communist.
