Wednesday, May 04, 2011

western/revisited: i recommend Cubano sandwich at TOASTERIA


TOASTERIA
No. 2, Lane 248, Zhong Xiao E. Rd, Sec. 4
(02) 2731-8004

MRT: SYS Memorial Hall


hours: 11AM- 11PM; weekends until 12AM

$-$$

kid friendliness: the original location off of Zhongxiao has limited seating and is in a busy alley

visit reviewed: 4/26/2011
previous visit reviewed: 4/2008

Ever since I tried the cubano sandwich at Cubanos last December, I had been thinking about the sweet ham, the sour pickles, the juicy marinated pork and pillowy bread and how that combination made for a great sandwich, which was hard to find in Taipei. Unfortunately, shortly after I visited and before I had a chance to write it up, Cubanos was closed and being renovated, after being sold to a new owner, and the possibility of having that craving satisfied remained a doubtful reality.

That is until I heard about the cubano sandwich at Toasteria. I hadn't been back to Toasteria in years, probably after my initial few visits and review (I recommended it), since Toasteria had raised their prices, Costco started importing more sliced cheeses (pepper jack, colby jack, swiss, cheddar, havarti) and I got a Hello Kitty sandwich maker and started making my own grilled cheese at home.

But if you're craving a sandwich, Toasteria is worth revisiting, as it has over forty different sandwiches available on its menu.



Toasteria's Cubano is heavy on the mustard, which overpowers most of the other flavors in the sandwich. They use their regular sandwich bread (panini grilled crispy) and load it up with plenty of pickles, pork, onions and cheese. I got my sandwich to-go and they also included a small plastic bag of marinated olives and pickles, as well as a green dipping sauce (a pesto mayo?). If had to choose in a taste test, I'd prefer Cubano's version of the cubano which balanced the sweetness with the sour and mustard (and had better bread), but until the reopening, I'm happy to have this unusual sandwich available in Taipei.

Since my last review, Toasteria has opened a second, roomier location in the Shida area. Has anyone had sandwiches at their Shida cafe location? It looks like it comes with a ciabatta-type roll there which I think would definitely add to the cubano.



OTHER LOCATION:
Shida branch
No. 1, Lane 72, Yun He St.
02) 2365-3051

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

I live in South Florida, so it's pretty easy for me to get a great Cuban sandwich. At least I know where I will be going when I live in Taiwan. =o)

Peech said...

doesn't look like the real thing...

Le Rouge Pasta and Pizza said...

Mojo Sauce recipe... (Mojo) is the marinade in which the pork filet the is beeing marinated before grilled or pan fried..... 1 cup Olive oil, 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice, 1/4 cup Orange juce, 2 tsp Paprika 3 tbsp chopped garlic.... Voila.. you can use this to marinate all kin of meat..chicken and Pork are especially good.. Also the trick for a great Cubano is to use Swiss cheese, Dill Pickle and Yellow mustard... And also use a good Ciabatta Bread.. Toasted or Grilled ...Dont forget to Press your sendwich before you eat it...At Cubano we used a Brick wrapped in foil.....Enjoy

joanh said...

黃愛玲: lucky that you get the real deal in florida!! there's another place that makes a better cuban sandwich.. but i'm not sure if it's open again yet.

peech: yeah, it's a toasteria version of a cuban sandwich. definitely not the real thing since the bread isn't even the right kind.

le rouge: thanks for the recipe!! i'll definitely have to try it sometime!

lan said...

I didn't try to Cuban, since I'm not very big on it. I did try a couple of the grilled cheeses: spicy (the one with jalapenos) and the three cheese (feta, cheddar, and smoked gouda). I thought they were interesting...good even. But they all lacked enough butter on the bread. Whatever though, it's a decent sandwich for a cheap price. You don't normally get that quality of ingredients for just a few dollars. It's a real big expat place. I almost felt like I was back in the States.

Anonymous said...

Shida one is sadly now closed :(

rosezzycozy said...

I just love their cubano sandwich it's my all time favorite of all the sandwiches they offer.:O)
and visited the 3 branches already.the DunHua T3 branch is nice and spacious

Anonymous said...

Shida one closed and Zhongxiao has two now. One near zhongxiao fuxing, which is basically just a sandwich bar, and the other right outside the zhongxiao dunhua mrt station (this one is QUITE roomy with 2 floors and lots of seating.)

:)