La Esquina Cubana

Great jibaritos! The cook sliced up the plaintains and fried them right in front of us. I don't think I've ever had a jibarito quite so fresh.

Nice neighborhood-y feel. Wonderfully inexpensive. And my coffee snob husband gave a thumbs up to their cafe Cubano.

If you want to eat at the Cuban grandmother's kitchen that you wish you had, La Esquina is the place for you. If you already have a Cuban grandmother, she might very well be hanging out at this joint.

Very tiny, very casual and very inexpensive, this place falls squarely into the "neighborhood ex-pat Cuban" hangout category, with people hanging out, drinking cafe con leche and chatting all day. Regular customers help themselves from the kitchen and bus their own tables. Very homey and incredibly friendly.

When we went to order, one of the items we wanted had run out (the chuletas). The owner was out on an errand and the gal manning the kitchen had not a word of English. One of the regular patrons jumped up to help us order, pointing out the various entrees and rices they had on offer.  The menu changes, fairly regularly, btw, and the best way to order is to have them show you what they have made that day. Following our kindly translator's advice, we ordered a stewed chicken dish and a Cubano sandwich. The husband plowed through the chicken as if it were his last meal, pausing on occasion to say "oh my god this is so f***ing good," while I tucked into the very minimalist style Cubano. By "minimalist" I mean no mustard no pickle, although I was later informed you can have those added upon request.  No matter, as the bread was fresh, the cheese nice and melty, the sandwich perfectly pressed and the pork...dear god. The pork was astonishing and there was a LOT of it, a good 3 to 1 pork to ham ratio on this badboy, they don't skimp by filling it up with cheap ham, they load you up with the good stuff. If you like pork - and who doesn't - this is the Cubano for you, the pork is clearly the star of the show, rich, flavorful, and tender. Although the sandwich was overall a bit dry, this could be easily remedied by adding mustard and pickle if you so chose.

Very friendly, muy inexpensive (our food and 2 drinks came to $14), family owned, and incredible food. Get thee to La Esquina. Unless you hate your non-existant Cuban grandmother, of course, in  which case, that just leaves more for the rest of us.