Cubano Challenge

I like Logan Square, it's a nice neighborhood in my favorite city, sure, it has it's problems with car alarms or noisy neighbors or that damn jackass on the bike with the clown horn. BUT for the most part it's a great hood and it definitely affords me the opportunity to sample as much Mexican, Cuban and Puerto Rican food as I want. With that in mind, I've begun a new foray within the culinary realm: namely, I'm going to start comparing and reviewing cubanos. This is the first of such posts. For those of you not in the know, cubanos are an amazing Cuban, duh, specialty sandwich with ham, roasted pork, cheese and mustard on a french roll. Logan Square has a plethora of joints that offer this on the menu and some are amazing, while others are dismal.


Today's Entrant: El Rinconcito Cubano. Located a scant four blocks from my house on the 3200 block of Fullerton, El Rinconcito is a few doors down from one of the better LS bars, The Whirlaway. Now, if the proprietors wanted, I suspect, they could make like gangbusters with the drunk hipster crowd filtering out of Whirlaway at bar time, alas, they as of now, have not gone with this plan and are only open til 8 p.m. The interior is predictably "ethnic" in the fashion that any authentic Mexicano or Cubano restarante. Tons of bric a brac adorn the walls, chintzy table cloths and of course, a voluptuous hostess accompanied by a crone who's responsibility is to harangue the kitchen staff in her native tongue. The sandwich is slightly overpriced for what you get, but was-it seemed-brushed with butter which is certainly a unique wrinkle to the bread. The pork was thinly sliced and not of any real merit. Not awful by any stretch, just not great. Too much mayonaise and the brushed on butter contributed to make the sandwich too greasy for my tastes, but it was ok. I give it 2.5 outta five stars.