My continued quest for finding a "true" Cuban sandwich in the Midwest has not been very fruitful so far. Most of the places that offer a Cuban sandwich on their menu usually just use a pressed-ciabatta bread with pork, ham, cheese, mustard and pickles. The key to a great Cuban sandwich is the sweet Cuban bread they use in Tampa or Miami at the authentic Cuban restaurants. However, almost five years ago a Cuban restaurant - which I believe to be the only Cuban restaurant in the state of Iowa - opened in Cedar Rapids. I finally got a chance to stop there on a recent trip through the City of Five Seasons to see if The Lost Cuban had a good Cuban sandwich.
Jess Streit grew up in Central Florida around the Orlando area. Coming from a big family, they used to hold large cook-outs that would regularly feed upwards of 75 to 80 people. With his grandparents moving to the U.S. in 1960 after escaping Cuba via Venezuela a year before, most of the foods that Streit and his family served at the cook-outs were authentic Cuban foods made from recipes handed down in his family. Everybody helped cook at the gatherings and Streit knew his way around a kitchen very well.
When his girlfriend took a job with General Mills in Cedar Rapids, Streit moved with her to the area. He decided to open a restaurant to keep him occupied in his new environment, but he couldn't do anything but feel somewhat lost among the flat cornfields of Iowa. Coming up with the name Lost Cuban and focusing on finding a place in the Cedar Rapids area thrust Streit in a full-time pursuit of opening his restaurant. When he found that a Mexican place in downtown Cedar Rapids was looking to close its doors, he approached the owner about taking over the space for his venture. He helped the owner of Salsa del Rio in his final days of business, then took over the space for a quick renovation. Streit opened The Lost Cuban in October of 2012.
The Lost Cuban is located on 3rd St. SE in downtown Cedar Rapids (see map) and I was able to find a parking space down the street from the place. The place is pretty small with a bar area up front and an open kitchen off to the side. But it was clean, well-lit and welcoming. The Lost Cuban has an extensive cocktail menu and is open until 2 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights. And through the week, they also have nightly food specials.
I ended up taking a high-topped table in a small alcove underneath a painting of a vintage car that are still found on the streets of Havana. A young lady brought me over a menu, and even though I knew what I wanted I took a quick look through it to see that they had a short menu of authentic Cuban foods including ropa vieja (stewed beef and vegetables), arroz con pollo (chicken and rice), and pollo en fricase (braised chicken with potatoes and carrots). But I got the Cuban sandwich.
I had high hopes for the sandwich being good. It was pressed with Swiss cheese oozing out of the bread with ham, pork, pickles and mustard packed inside. But from the first bite, I knew that it was not the great Cuban bread that I've been searching for in the Midwest for the past 20 years. Oh, don't get me wrong - it was a very good sandwich. The outer shell of the bread was crunchy and flaky, while the pork inside was tender and tasty. It was much better than many of the Cuban sandwiches I've tried at other restaurants. But it didn't seem to be the same as the ones I'd had in Florida years ago. Then again, maybe my memory is failing me and this is what a true Cuban sandwich is supposed to be like. To me, I remember the bread being similar in taste to a King's Hawaiian bun or bread. But this just sort of seemed like a basic baked Italian or French bread that you'd find at most bakeries.
Even though the Cuban sandwich at the Lost Cuban was good, it still wasn't what I remembered having years ago during my trips to Miami. It was better than many other renditions of Cuban sandwiches I've had in the Midwest over the past few years, but it was not what I was expecting. However, the Lost Cuban is a unique and interesting restaurant - one that seems to have found a good home in Cedar Rapids. (The Lost Cuban is closed on Sunday.)
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