I've been on the hunt for a good Cuban sandwich similar to the ones that I first enjoyed during trips to Miami over 25 years ago. The sweet Cuban bread is the key to the sandwich. But most places in the Midwest usually just use a pressed ciabatta panini and all it becomes is nothing more than a seasoned pork sandwich with ham and cheese and yellow mustard. I had asked Judith Dunbar-Hines who has taken us on a couple of culinary tours of Chicago neighborhoods - and who has visited Cuba, as well - which restaurant had good - as in REAL - Cuban sandwiches. She mentioned a couple three to me and one that I was near one day on a trip into Chicago was 90 Miles Cuban Cafe. I decided to give their Cuban sandwich a try.
During the Mariel Boat Lift in 1980, Alberto Gonzalez decided to make the treacherous crossing from Cuba to Key West with is family. Along with his wife Maria Magdalena and his young son Alberto, Jr., the Gonzalez family made the 90 mile trek to the United States over a 15-hour period in stormy weather in a shrimp boat loaded with dozens of people.
The Gonzalez's settled initially in Key West where Alberto Gonzalez, Sr. and Alberto, Jr. caught fish from the sea and sold them on the dock. The family eventually came north to Chicago where family members had settled and the family began their new life in America. Alberto, Jr. eventually got into the mortgage business as a young adult.
One thing that Alberto, Jr. really missed was his grandmother's cooking and there wasn't a lot of Cuban restaurants in the greater Chicago area. He had talked about opening a restaurant with his parents, but the timing always seemed to be wrong. However, in 2008 an opportunity to take over a spot on Armtiage Ave. in the Wicker Park/Bucktown neighborhood came about and Alberto, Jr. and his wife Christina opened 90 Miles Cuban Cafe in the fall of that year, naming the place after the 90 miles his family had to sail in a crowded boat in stormy seas to get to freedom. Friends were telling the Gonzales' that this was a risky adventure given the economic crisis that was going on at the time. But armed with recipes from his grandmother's kitchen, Alberto Gonzalez, Jr. found that 90 Miles Cuban Cafe was a hit with not only many of the nearly 20,000 Cuban citizens of the greater Chicagoland area, but with people looking for something different to try.
Within six months during a time when restaurants were closing, the Gonzales' were already planning for a second location. In July of 2009, they opened a second location at the corner of Clybourn and Belmont in the Logan Square neighborhood of Chicago. Both places were small and had a BYOB policy if you wanted to have your own Cuba Libré's and Mojitos.
Pictured right - Alberto Gonzalez, Jr. and his wife Christina. (Photo courtesy dnainfo.com)
The Lincolnwood Town Center shopping mall is located at the corner of Touhy Ave. and McCormick Blvd. literally across the street from the Chicago city limits in Lincolnwood. (see map) The upscale mall that catered to upper-middle class shoppers had fallen on hard times after the economic downturn in 2008-09 and many of its stores had gone out of business. A space that housed a Ruby Tuesday restaurant stood vacant for over two years after it closed in 2012. After a new ownership group came in to take over the struggling mall, they were aggressive in getting new businesses to come to the property. In 2014, the ownership of the mall approached Alberto and Christina Gonzalez about putting a 90 Miles Cuban Cafe in the old Ruby Tuesday spot. Within a year, the third location of 90 Miles Cuban Cafe opened at Lincolnwood Town Center.
It was around 2 p.m. when I had finished with an appointment and I was near the Lincolnwood Town Center heading toward a dealer in Chicago. I decided to stop in and try a Cuban sandwich at 90 Miles Cuban Cafe. The restaurant is located on the east side of the mall at ground level. There's an outside entrance to the restaurant as well as a mall entrance inside.
The decor of the 7000 square foot space was designed to look like a true Cuban restaurant complete with art deco style lighting and tile floors - a restaurant that was literally stuck in time like many buildings are in Havana. Tiled walls with leaded glass windows were also prominent along the mall side of the restaurant.
The Gonzalez's called upon Cuban artist Alejandro Arango to paint a series of murals on the walls of the restaurant. The brightly colored murals were found in a back room that could be used for receptions and meetings complete with small lights hanging from the ceiling.
Another mural was on the wall near the bar area. (This is the only 90 Mile Cuban Cafe that features a bar.) Most of the mural paid tribute to Ernest Hemingway who spent many years in Cuba. A Corona 3 typewriter, two cats (Hemingway loved cats) and a couple of books that Hemingway wrote while he was in Cuba were depicted in the mural.
There was a coffee bar at the restaurant which features a small alcove of non-matching furniture. The furniture may have been used, but the area reminded me of an old time hotel lobby. Elsewhere in the restaurant were benches made from old windows shutters. Alberto Gonzalez, Jr. once said that this was his way of showing how resourceful Cubans can be when faced with a need with little to work with.
Along the wall heading to the restrooms were a number of vintage photographs depicting life in Cuba. Cuba has always fascinated me and I lingered for awhile in this area taking in the photos from life in the 1950's Cuba just before the revolution.
I asked the hostess if I could sit at the bar and she said that would be no problem. Well, it turned out to be a problem. There didn't appear to be a bartender or any staff behind the bar. I looked through the menu while I waited for someone to show up and it was a good five minutes - maybe longer - before someone showed up behind the bar. And, of course, he completely ignored me. He brought some food out for another couple seated at the bar, but then disappeared again for another couple of minutes. I had to flag him down to get his attention. He asked if I wanted anything to drink and I told him that I'd take a Revolution Anti-Hero IPA that they had on tap. He poured it for me, wordlessly set it down in front of me and then disappeared again.
I pretty much knew that all I wanted was a Cubano sandwich, but the rest of the food was authentic Cuban fare. Appetizers included meat or seafood filled empanadas, tuna ceviche and beef filled potatoes called Papas Rellenos. Cuban staples such as Ropa Viejas (slow roasted beef with onions, peppers and garlic), Lechon (slow roasted pork with citrus mojo), and Pargo (flash fried whole Red Snapper). One thing that I noticed on the menu was that not all entrees came with plantains. I don't care for plantains and the Cuban restaurants I've been to before seem to serve plantains with everything.
When the bartender finally showed up again, I had to get his attention to place my sandwich order. His service was absolutely horrid. And when someone from the kitchen brought my sandwich out to me, I quickly realized that I didn't have a napkin or any utensils. I had to flag down someone else to get those.
Now, maybe I don't really know what a Cuban sandwich really is. Once again, this was not what I've had before during previous trips to Miami. The bread was not the Cuban sweet bread that I've had. The crust was crisp, but it was like any other panini-style Cuban-style sandwich that I've had around the Midwest. Overall, the taste of the sandwich was fine, but I was mildly disappointed in that it was still not the great Cuban bread that I've had years ago. I sat there after finishing up a good portion of the sandwich and some of the seasoned fries that came with the Cubano and I thought, "Well, maybe I really don't know what a Cuban sandwich really is."
Coupled with the poor service I experienced, the Cubano sandwich I had at 90 Miles Cuban Cafe made for an overall disappointing experience. Oh, don't get me wrong. The Cuban sandwich was fine, but it was like any other Cuban sandwich that I've had around the Midwest. Being an authentic Cuban restaurant, I expected the sandwich to feature the sweet Cuban bread and to have the pork and ham explode with flavors. It turned out that it had neither. There are, however, some other items that I found on the menu that intrigued me and I would have no problem going back to the Lincolnwood 90 Miles location to give some of them a try. I just won't sit at the bar the next time I go.
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