The delicious, crusty Cuban bread puts their veggie sandwich above most others. Explore the side items, too: the fried plantains are hot and tasty, and the bread with butter and garlic is fantastic.
Rating: Some Good Vegetarian Options
5 hats: Outstanding
4 hats: Very Good
3 hats: Good
2 hats: Average
1 hats: Disappointing
0 hats: Avoid
Received 3 hats
East-side and west-side eateries grab today's spotlight. And they'll take you from Cuba to Crete.
They're funky, fun and affordable, and better than good at what they do.
Here are your personal previews:
Gordo's Authentic Cuban Sandwiches, 1907 W. Pensacola St. 576-5767. Hours: 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Monday-Saturday; noon-10 p.m. Sunday. Master Card, Visa and local checks accepted. Not wheelchair-accessible. Separate non-smoking section. 3 hats.
It's old, bare, clean and the real thing, this Cuban newcomer called Gordo's.
It's a pinch of Calle Ocho on West Pensacola.
And it makes one of the best Cuban sandwiches we've unearthed since Garcia's quit the business.
If you're out to eat, don't mess with Gordo's on a game night. Just after last Saturday's FSU triumph, traffic in the five snug rooms was gridlocked by whoopin', howlin', beer-drinkin' chowhounds.
Pandemonium reigned.
Any other noon or night, seven days a week, you can score authentic, cheap and tasty Cuban cooking, sporadically served on plastic at a picnic table or card table or maybe on a stool at a wall counter with a 180-degree view of wall.
Tapas buffs can have a field day with dollar starters such as fried Empanadas, their crisp pastry crusts filled with mildly seasoned beef, or with spicier shredded chicken.
A buck also gets a pair of ham and chicken Croquetas, or beef-stuffed yucca or potato Rellenas.
Another 75 cents coaxes out a Tamale topped with olive oil, fresh garlic and onions.
If you like Cuban Bread with a slight crunch, try one of the several bread things ... with butter ($1.50), fresh garlic ($1.75), fresh tomato ($2) or grilled cheese and garlic ($2.95).
Sweet Plantains, fried to dark, almost chewy sweetness, are served in a paper tray for $1.25. And twice-sampled, twice-enjoyed Black Bean Soup goes for $1.65.
One of four chicken and pork meals -- Pollo Platter ($6.50) -- brought two halves of marinated, grilled chicken breast scattered over with thinly sliced raw onion rings.
Also on the plate, a rice mold partnered a cup of black beans that were tender, thickly liquid and assertively seasoned. Better, for sure, than the half-cooked, half-cocked beans we chewed, and chewed, on that wild night of pigskin tribal rites.
Cuban sandwiches? Excellent.
Freshly made and hot-pressed, a Cubano ($4.50) came crunchy, gordo with ham, pork and Swiss cheese, and amply meal-sized.
A Turkey version, for $4.95, proved equally munchable, as well might the same-priced Veggie and the "massive" El Gordo, a Cuban club sandwich served on a 12-inch loaf for $5.95.
Garcia's, we miss you still. But likable little Gordo's has filled the
void at last.
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