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Categories: Cuban, Sandwiches
Neighborhood: Logan Square"What is going on over here? Ten five star reviews in a row? For that sandwich place on Lincoln, you know the one by the Paulina brown line…" read more »
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OH MY GOD.
Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat.
Sometimes I shake uncontrollably.
Then I remember the sweetness that is El Cubanitos Steak sandwich.
It comes with a fork.....go ahead ask me why?
So much delicious meat just falling out of the sandwich.
The flavor just sticks with you. And the owner is a sweet heart...
"see you tomorrow" as she says when you leave...
I wish!
Went here b/c my pregnant coworker travels 25 min South on a bus to get the egg and steak sandwich, then comes back North to go to work, which is near her home. I'm thinking if she has a craving that bad, it's gotta be good!
I haven't really found a Cuban sandwich that I've enjoyed b/c I always feel that they've been bland. The steak and egg sandwiches were topped with a flavorful house sauce which is like mayo mixed with light seasonings. Yummy. The crunchiness of the shoelace fries gave it great texture and the bread was still soft even after being toasted heated/toasted.
I'd come back but I'm going to forever stick with the steak sandwich :)
Easy to miss this shack-like location, save for the Cuban pride painted mural on the side. But I like it better that way. I'm greedy like that.
$6 for a delicious steak sandwich and friendly service? C'mon!
Wow!!! Wow!!! Love this little sandwich place the woman who runs owns this place is so passionate about making great Cuban sandwiches they are to die for !!! The bread is awesome we ordered the Cuban steak sandwich with the shoestring french fries and the ham and chese as well as the guava and cheese pastel. I could visit this place everyday if it was closer to my home. Cheers!!!
I'm sorry to say that I did not love this place. We went after Mr. Brent W suggested it, I can't put it all on Brent though--I heard plenty of good things from people on the street. I don't even know how I begin conversations with street people but that's besides the point..
I've driven down Pulaski MANY of times! My uncle actually lives three blocks away. I said to my husband "I can't believe we've never seen this place" and then when we drove PAST it, I said "I think it was that shack next to that creepy restaurant/bar." So we came back around, pulled into the alley and parked in the empty lot next to the tiny shack.. I couldn't believe there was a place smaller than Marianao's!
I came here to try the steak sandwich, I don't like the cubano so I can't comment on that one. The best way I can describe the steak sandwich is: add mustard to a Great Steak and Potato steak sandwich BUT toast the french bread and remove the cheese. Even though this sandwich HAS cheese, I couldn't taste it. And to describe the egg and steak sandwich, add egg to the above! Yes.. that's what it tasted like. Dry-ish steak, mustard-y taste.. just not my thing, I guess. If I had to pick one over the other, I'd go with the egg and steak.
I think all cuban sandwiches have a sour flavor and tasty meat but this place just didn't deliver a good tasting steak sandwich. I know that's hard to believe, based on the MANY great reviews. My best advice is to take your taste buds down there and see for yourself. But for $6, you could spend a couple cents more and go to 90 Miles.. or save some of that money and head to Marianao's (that's what I'll be doing).
I will say this: the cashier was super friendly and the parking lot was convenient. Will I be back?? Sadly, no.
PS. The soda was a rip-off. Ok, I'm done.
I really liked this place when it first opened. In fact, I was there every weekend. The steak sandwich was my favorite. The last few times I have ordered, my steak sandwich has been a little on the salty side. I'm not sure if the recipe for the steak marinade changed or perhaps new cooks. It's still a good sandwich but I no longer go out of my way like I use to.
Their prices have gone up a bit. A steak sandwich will now run you $6.00, and a cubano sandwich is $5.00. The food is absolutely worth the extra dollar or two.
They still make the very BEST cafe con leche you'll ever have.
Ay Dios mio, que rico! Que barato!
El Cubanito is a little sandwich shop along the industrial…
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Yum! I had a bit of trouble finding the place, on account of the fact that they were getting a new sign tomorrow so they didn't have one outside. But everything everyone said was right. That was a damn good steak sandwich. And for $6? I'm in.
The lady who works there was super nice, and pretty funny, although it may not have been intentionally. I kind of wish they had a side dish, like fries or something, to go with the sandwiches though...
I love cubanito sandwiches!!!
I love Cubano sandwich with a cafe con leche!
Really smal lplace , so for me me it's just for pick up orders!!!
MEH. Decently priced, Cool people. In the cut type of joint. like a small beach shack except its on a regular busy street, with a four spot parking lot in the back. The steak sandwiches are good but the adding the small crispy shoelace fries to it made the sandwhich a bit too salty. not to mention a hella crunchy. I like the texture, but for some it can be a bit too much. As for the saltiness... Sorry. I mean its ok to put some salt on, but can i get another glass of water? damn. Shoulda just made sandwhich myself. Heres what i would do: Inner skirt steak sliced into strips grilled with a lemon butter garlic sauce. topped with avocado. mayo, and tomato. tack on cilantro or spinach for a green kick Serve over a toasted bun. but then again, it aint my kitchen :)
seriously. how . good . is . El Cubanito's . steak . sam ? !
WOW
HOLD UP, *BEFORE* reading further, if you've never been here but plan to: take a look at El… Read more »
I found myself craving a steak sandwich big time, so I decided to hit this spot up. And I am glad that I did!
This place makes an awesome steak sandwich! It's loaded with chopped meat, and is very flavorful. Best sandwich they make, in my opinion. I usually go to Mariano's to fill my steak sandwich needs, but this place has gained the top spot in my book. They are more friendly than Mariano's, also.
Be careful exiting the parking lot/alley to Pulaski during rush hour. The traffic can zoom by very fast and with no parking on the street during this time, the cars can zoom by VERY close! And the regulars that drive here will enter the parking lot/alley fast, too. I've had a few close calls...
I love the place and the people are great!
The steak sandwiches are awesome and my girlfriend likes the Eggs, Ham and Cheese sandwich.
The steak sandwich is $6 now.
I didn't even know this place was here! It's literally 2 blocks from my house - i'll have to stay away or i'll be 3000 pounds.
Anyways, found it from some reviews on here and sent the hubby to pickup lunch in the pouring rain. Oops. We both had the steak and it was really good! The bread was excellent - and it did kind of taste like a philly or something similar. I got a ham and cheese for our little one and she had about 5 whole bites. It was jam packed with about 3 layers each of ham and cheese.
I also had the cafe con leche which was tasty but kind of sweet. I'm assuming it's supposed to be.
Great little spot to grab a quick bite for lunch or whatever. Hubby said it was very small with a small parking area as well. Oh and they take debit which is good too because we hardly ever have cash.
I came and tried the steak sandwich and the egg and steak sandwich. It is very different from other cuban steak sandwiches cause they shred the beef. It is like a philly cheese steak...cuban style. It had mustard, lettuce, and cheese. My bread was pretty toasted. I've never been a fan of toasted bread cause it cuts up my mouth, so I'm pretty sensitive to when it is a little over toasted like this one. The egg one is basically the same as above with egg. I didn't hate the place, but I'll probably never go back mainly cause my wife really didn't like em =-0
I had made a cubano sandwich at home a few times and they had always turned out really well, but it was time to try one made by someone who knew what they were doing. So, off to El Cubanito I went. I ordered a cubano and waited....I was slightly shocked by how long it took, but then I looked in the back and realized they were making them all fresh, which when I thought about it I was obviously happy about.
The sandwich was very good. I wish there had been a bit less meat on it, but otherwise it was really amazing. I would definitely go back to try some of the other sandwiches.
I absolutely love this place. The owner Laritza, is a real darling; there's not a more infectiously sweet women working in a restaurant anywhere! Her energy fills the tiny room where these magical sandwiches are made. A visit here to have her whip up an absolutely perfect cafe con leche is reward enough for making the trip!
But oh, the real treat is in the sandwiches being constructed by Laritza's husband Alberto! Several Cuban sandwich varieties are available on the small menu. "The Cuban" of course is a standard worth trying (pork, ham, pickles, mustard, mayo, cheese, etc.) If you want a bigger meal, the steak sandwich is loaded with finely chopped beef (think philly steak) that's seasoned and moist and hard to resist... you'll smell it from their little parking lot next door. All sandwiches share the most important ingredient of any sandwich in my opinion- El Cubanito's perfect, crispy, fresh bread! Bravo for serious sandwich places like this that get bread right!
For desert I order an extra sandwich- the Timba! It has many of the expected desert qualities; thick slices of magically sweet guava paired with buttery, flaky, crispy bread... makes perfect sense. In sandwich form, with melted creamy cheese this thing is stunning!
This place reminds me of why I choose to deal with the negatives of city living, it's an absolute gem!
Their sandwiches are excellent. They don't seem to use real Cuban bread (hard, but not impossible, to get in Chicago), but the French bread is good enough. The steak sandwiches are great. The coffee is good but could use a slight bit more strength. However, I stress that the sandwiches are *excellent.* What is even better is that the owners, husband and wife both from Cuba, are extremely sweet. Be prepared for the chef/husband to throw you a wink, and his (good looking!) wife/cashier to call you "amor" and engage in cheesy jokes in Spanish. I'm not for sure if they speak English, but you should have no prob ordering if you don't speak Spanish...the menu is simple. Make sure to grab the "Materva" soft drink from the cooler; it's really good.
Warning: this place is VERY busy during lunch, and only 7-8 people fit inside. You can call ahead of time to place an order for pick-up.
Read some of the reviews on Yelp!
Decided to go today for lunch and it did not disappoint! We loved it, very authentic steak sandwich perfectly flavored. The staff was very friendly and invited us to return. Don't blink when you drive by you'll miss it!
Family owned and operated and it shows!
Rick
Fantastic sandwiches, great, friendly service, and dirt cheap.
The Cubano was a slight bit on the dry side, but fantastic flavors.
My wife had the Steak Con Todo and it was like a cuban version of a cheese steak w/ lettuce, tomatoes, and "fries" on top.
It's definitely worth the trip to Logan Square to check the place out. And, as others have mentioned, it's probably more of a to-go place as there is only a small counter w/ 4-5 stools.
This place is so awesome.
The owners are the sweetest. Also, there is a second location that opened more recently on Fullerton just west of Laramie. That one's open till 7pm, for your dinner needs.
Rock.
Ay Papi, this place rocks the best sandwich per square inch of customer space in the world.
The building is meager in a meager area of town, but the service and sandwiches can not be beat. In my experiences, Cuban joints aren't customarily what I would consider speedy. This was no exception, but the one thing that was different was that the workers talked to the customers the whole time. The same lady called me, "Papi" and "Nino" in the same conversation. I finished my cafe con leche before the sandwiches came, but I didn't feel slighted in the least.
We picked a Cuban and Pan con Timba (cheese and guava). Both were awesome. They were smashed thin with the fillings appropriately gooey and rich. The Cuban features all of the standard fixings, but the mustard and pickles gave it an amazing acidic quality to balance the cheese and pork. The Pan Con Timba was a fascinating mix of the sweet, but not oversweet guava and a smattering of the cheese. It was a great lunch dessert.
The star of the show is most assuredly the bread. They take their time and crush it on the plancha. Perfect. Next time, I might call ahead, but having a coffee with the crowd has a charm that I can't explain.
I am gonna go ahead and agree with Maya C's review, with one minor clarification. Describing this place as a "hole in the wall" is an insult to things that could've been covered with toothpaste the day before you moved out of the dorms.
I ordered 2 sandwiches, a cuban and a ropa vieja, one of which I had for lunch once i got it home, the other, I had for dinner about 20 minutes ago. They were both delicious, even reheated. The highlight of the trip, for me was the Cafe con leche, which rocked my whole world.
This is a GREAT Cubano Sandwich. I can't speak of the steak sandwich but my girlfriend and roommate both agreed it was VERY GOOD!
The joint is small and each sandwich is prepared freshly. The bread is perfectly crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside.
Sandwiches are filling.
This is pretty much a '"to go" meal since there is only a couple of barstools along the wall for seating.
I personally have to admit that I don't really care for Cubano's. I do like ham but I am NOT in love with it. Although, the Cubano's at El Cubanito are definitely descent. I prefer to order their steak sandwich along with some Arroz con leche for dessert. I really like how they cut up the steak sandwich meat into tiny little pieces... it makes it so easy to eat. This place is always super busy when I go and I can certainly understand why. Everyone that I know that goes there is obsessed with their Cubano's. Definitely good stuff!
Yay for the steak sandwiches here! VERY good. I always drive by this place and have wanted to stop by forever and finally did twice in the last couple days. =) I think the lady who takes the orders is absolutely entertaining. I laughed the whole time there and everyone seems to be regulars here too.
It's nice to see they make the orders right then and there when you order and good to know you can call in and place an order so it's ready when you come in. I'll def b back.
Keep your eyes peeled or you'll miss this place.
They have amazing steak sandwiches. Don't expect a skirt steak, the steak is chopped and oh so flavorful. The Cubano s/w is ham, cheese, pork, mayo and maybe lettuce all pressed together panini style.
I need to try the Pan con Timba here and cafe con leche.
I heard about this place on Chicagoist and had to check it out.
Location-wise, blink and you'll miss it. I went there on foot with a friend of mine and we walked right past it. And on the inside, this place is TINY. You're taking this to go.
So anyway, we ordered our sandwiches, and about 8-10 minutes later they were ready. I literally could have walked out of there without paying, because the cashier (owner?) never charged me! He handed me the sandwiches and this conversation ensues:
Me: "I never paid."
Him: "You didn't pay?"
Me: "No."
Him: "You want to pay now?"
Me: "Um...... yeah."
So that was weird. Anyway, the sandwich was a four out of five star Cuban -- the flavors are nicely balanced, and at $3.75, the price is right. It's within reasonable walking distance from my house, so if I'm in the mood for a Cuban again, I know where I'm going.
Really? So this is what all the fuss is about? Don't get me wrong. They do it right. The steak sandwich is good, but c'mon. And I never understood the Cubano sandwich. It's a freaking ham sandwich for chrissakes. (oh yeah, it has pork and pickles) You can make it at home for $1.50.
Sometimes I get the sense that Yelpers are jumping on a bandwagon and/or have no culinary skills whatsoever to know how to make their own food.
But seriously, I live pretty close to here, but I still don't think I'll be making a special trip for it. You aren't going for the atmosphere. Also the hours of operation are kind of a pain if you don't get here for lunch.
El Rinconcito is closer and has more options and is about the same price. And it has a small dining room. So I'll go there when I get a taste for Cuban sandwiches.
Not bad, but definitely not worth 5 stars. This isn't Hot Doug's.
It does have that hole-in-the-wall charm to it though.
the steak / egg sambwhich is the best sambwhich i have ever had in my life!!! and alot of beef and very affordable. This is a must see place. and the people are very nice and make you feel at home and welcome, and it is cheap. the only negative is getting there with the traffic can be a pain in the butt. however better than any other cuban place in chicago.
El Cubanito has the best steak sandwich I've had in Chicago, and I eat them on a weekly basis. The steak is tender, chopped finely, and with cuban seasoning. It's served on a perfect pressed bread that's got enough crust to hold that meat, lettuce, tomato, shoestring fries, and really flavorful mayo-like sauce.
If you're not in the mood for steak, the Cuban sandwich is great too, but as others have stated the Pan con Timba is truly a revolution. It's a great balance of salty and sweet. The cafe con leche is the perfect accompaniment. I love this place.
So far this is the best steak sandwich I've had of any style in the entire city. The mojo sauce they put on it is divine. The Cuban sandwich is also one of my favorites in the city, and they do it a little different by putting the cheese in the middle of the ingredients which prevents it from melting the into goo (though it does still get nice and warm.) This offends some Cuban sandwich purists but I like the texture better this way. And these sandwiches are enormous; it's a struggle to eat a full sandwich in one sitting.Yet count on paying six bucks or less for one. If you can make it here for lunch, this is the best lunch bargain around, bar none. This is my favorite Cuban sandwich joint in the city by far, though I'll admit I sometimes go to Cafe Unica instead just for the people-watching.
*UPDATE* This place used to be known for having gigantic Cubanos. they have since come down in size, but they're still bigger than the "slim jim" style Cubanos served at other places. I'm not disappointed enough in this new development to bump my review down a star; the sandwich is still worth the asking price and bigger doesn't necessarily mean better.
On another note, the owners were recently able to get their daughter out of Cuba. Hooray! I didn't know they had left a daughter behind, but she's here now, and she now works at the shop. Her English isn't very good yet but she seems just as nice and sweet as her mom. And I must say, she's a stone fox.
I was stopped at the traffic light heading north on pulaski just south of wrightwood, and that's when it happened. These amazing aromas filled my car. I looked around frantically and saw this little cuban sandwich shack, pulled over and stepped in. I asked "what's fresh?" and they recommended the steak. Another customer inside was going off about how he takes orders from people on the west side of illinois and brings back boxes full of this stuff. He said people drive in from Wisconsin. I tried the steak and was very happy that my car windows were open that day. I've been back several times and finally tried the cuban sandwich which is also awesome. Even better than the steak if you don't want something quite as heavy. The staff is always super friendly. SO much flavor packed into such a small little shack. This place rules!
Great steak sandwiches grilled w/ shoestring potatoes for a little crunch...
Have yet to try the Cuban Sandwich, but it's suppose to be awesome.
I'd drive across the city for this little shack, but luckily it's only 5 blocks away!
i love this place. its cheap. quick. best steak sammichs ever. walkin distance from my job (beats mex food every day)
the lady there is a sweetheart and will throw in a champagne cola every now and then ;)
So, what's not to like?
1. Dirty and small
2. The line of thuggish people trailing outside.
3. The lady who answered the phone for a pick up order hangs up AS SOON as you're done ordering. No confirmation that she just heard what you said.
Yummy........Steak Con Todo Sandwich...is absolutely delicious...I tried the Cubano Sandwich too.... it was good (although it could not compete with the steak sandwich). Definitely going back to this place...Make sure you get to this place early cause they close at 5pm they have another location on Fullerton that stays open to 7pm. El Cubanito is a tiny little place.. jammed pack with people... but they have quick service and a convenient little parking lot on the side of the building.
Even after reading review after review about the beef sandwiches, I decided to go with a Cubano. Still very good. But the Timba is even better. Based on what I tasted, I'd go for that.
The sandwiches are fantastic, the service is great, and the prices are low. What more do you want? I cannot really see anything to complain about at this place.
Be on the lookout when you make the trek to el cubanito, they are hard to spot. That being said once you spot it youll know its a real gemmer. I lived in Tampa for a year and got to experience the very best of Cuban sandwich's and this lil shack in Chicago offers by far the best version in the city...not to be missed, one of the 10 best sandwiches in Chicago. The steak sandwich is also really good.
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