Location: 392 Roncesvalles Avenue, Toronto
Website: http://www.lacubana.ca/

I had a bit of an iffy meal on my last visit to La Cubana, but if the sandwich I just had was any indication, that was just a blip on the radar.  La Cubana is still very, very good.

Specifically, I had the Guava BBQ Shortrib Medianoche, which Toronto Life recently called the 11th best sandwich in the city.  I don’t always agree with Toronto Life’s opinions on food, but in this case they’re dead on.  It’s outstanding.

The sandwich features a very generous amount of shortrib topped with “red cabbage slaw, chimichurri, pickled jalapeno, crispy onion.”  It’s served on a soft bun they bake in-house.

The shortrib itself is absurdly good.  It manages to be melt-in-your-mouth tender while still retaining its texture.  It has a nice beefy flavour that’s complemented perfectly by the guava BBQ sauce — the sandwich is saucy as hell (there was a huge pool on the plate when I was done eating), but the sauce is so good that it feels just right.  It’s sweet, but it has a tangy, zippy bite that balances it out.

Everything else complements it perfectly.  The crispy onions are really tasty, and you get a good amount of  crunch and acidity from the slaw and the jalapenos.  It’s a great mix of flavours and textures.

And the bun is soft and fluffy, with just enough substance to hold up to the saucy, generously stuffed sandwich.  It’s so good.