Cuban food – Michael Eats

A Tasty Cuban Sandwich at Havana Sanguich

Published on September 16, 2024 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 252 Queen Street West, Toronto
Website: https://www.havanasanguich.com/

Havana Sanguich is a new sandwich shop downtown that serves what they call “Cuban-style sandwiches and Colombian street food.” It’s mostly a take-out joint, though they do have a few tables outside.

They actually have a pretty extensive sandwich menu, with something like a dozen choices. But of course, if you’re at a Cuban sandwich shop, you’ve gotta get the Cubano.

The Cubano, as per their menu: “black forest ham, lechon, Swiss cheese, pickles, and mustard on Cuban bread.”

I think this place might serve the best Cuban sandwich I’ve ever had? It’s right up there, that’s for sure.

It’s the type of sandwich that could easily be too rich (it’s crammed with a two types of pork and melty cheese), but the balance of flavours is spot-on, with just the right amount of acidity from the mustard and pickles.

The combo of the salty ham and the sizable chunks of tender, flavourful pork shoulder is seriously satisfying, with the gooey Swiss bringing it all together. And the fresh, lightly crispy Cuban bread is the perfect vehicle; it’s nice and fluffy, with just enough substance to hold up to the meaty sandwich.

The sandwich is about 17 bucks, which seems pricey, but it’s easily hefty enough to be shared.

I tried the Cuban smoked brisket sandwich as well (“Cuban break, smoked brisket, roasted mojo pork, Swiss cheese, pickles, fried onions”). It’s hard to top that Cubano, but this was almost as good, with a whole bunch of tender beef and some nice zippiness from the onions. It’s a really satisfying sandwich.

I also tried a couple of the empanadas: beef, and cheese. Both were quite tasty, and both featured a delightfully crispy exterior that set them apart from other empanadas that I’ve had.

Guava BBQ Shortrib Medianoche at La Cubana

Published on June 28, 2019July 10, 2019 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

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.

Cubano Disappointment at La Cubana

Published on April 3, 2018June 28, 2019 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 92 Ossington Avenue, Toronto
Website: http://www.lacubana.ca/

I love the cubano sandwich at La Cubana. Or at least, I usually do.

I was going to order something else, but then I realized that I’ve never actually written about the cubano here, and I really don’t need much more of an excuse than that.

And here’s the thing: it was good. It certainly wasn’t bad, per se. That’s the problem with serving truly great food; there’s nowhere to go but down, and even something that’s quite good is going to seem like a letdown in comparison.

The cubano here is normally the perfect amalgam of gooey cheese, savoury meats, and zingy pickles. It’s astonishingly good. Usually.

This time? It was off. Though the cheese was nice and gooey, the pork had a mildly gamy, leftovery flavour, there were almost no pickles to cut the richness of the cheese and the meat, and the bread was dry and overly crunchy. I ate the sandwich as carefully as I could, and it still thoroughly mangled the roof of my mouth.

Has La Cubana gone downhill? Or was the kitchen just having a bad day? I’ll feel bad if it’s the latter — but they served me what they served me, so I don’t feel too bad about it.