Spoon and Stable - December 11, 2015

If you’ve been to Spoon and Stable during dinner service and haven’t sat at the bar or in the lounge, you might be unaware that they have an entire menu that you can only order from if you’re in that area. This is above and beyond the Saturday night ramen experimentations. Comprised of mostly sandwiches and other finger foods it’s definitely worth checking out.

I like sandwiches, almost all sandwiches, with the notable exception of some “salad” sandwiches. But as with most foodstuffs, there is one that reigns supreme at the top of the stack. That sandwich is The Cuban, or Cubano. Two types of porky goodness, griddled bread, pickles, mustard, and Swiss cheese. If it’s on a menu and I’m not there for something specific, I will will most likely order it. A week or so before this night I was there for ramen and was tempted to get both, but the bartender thankfully warned me off because it’s a fair sized sandwich, he knew I’d be back for it anyway.

When you eat as many of a singular dish variations from the norm begin to stand out. Did they use a water cured ham causing the bread to be soggy? Did they use provolone instead of Swiss so you get a better melt but less overall flavor? Did they use pork loin instead of butt so you don’t get the right fat mix and mouth feel? Did they use brown instead of yellow mustard? Did they use the right bread? How did they grill it, did they use a flat press, a brick, a expletive panini press?

Spoon and Stable’s entry into the always growing catalog of Cuban sandwiches that resides somewhere in my head is a really solid one.

Cubano Sandwich with smoked pork butt, ham, pickles, mustard: Really, really good. This iteration of the sandwich variates the bread, in an interesting and pleasing manner. Most Cubans are pressed, this removes the air from the bread’s crumb and makes it seem like it’s mostly just a crusty vessel for the fillings. If it’s pressed on a panini press it also adds a corrugation that can lead to dry peaks and wet valleys depending on the moisture of the fillings. However they did it, and I asked Gavin but forgot to write it down, it’s a perfectly flat circular loaf. This allows for a lot of crisping on a griddle without the need for pressing to get the good surface contact, which leaves the crumb of the bread intact.

When you bite into this sandwich you get the crispy crust, then the soft crumb, followed by mustard, nicely shaved house cured ham, some pulled pork, pickles, more pulled pork, the cheese, more soft bread, and the other side of the crispy crust. That softer crumb portion of the bread allows for air to come into play and carry flavors, it adds another level to a Cuban sandwich that I didn’t know I was missing. It’s the first Cuban I’ve had that feels evolved, but still adhering to the traditional styles.

This sandwich is worth waiting to get a spot in the bar or lounge for. It’s good sized and cut in fourths so would be great to share between 2 of 4, but given how good it is, 2 is probably more appropriate. If you get this you can always get anything off the main menu, and if you save room (you definitely should), the dessert menu.

Now I want this sandwich again. It’s my new favorite Cuban.