La Unica Cafe - Schaumburg ( w/ Pics)

So, working in the Scaumburg area and after a weeklong tear of Japanese places like Daruma, Iazakaya Sankyu, Santouka ramen, and Kuramaya I was in the mood for something different.

Driving near the India House/Bombay chopsticks and lo and behold I see a sign for La Unica Cafe.

Curious, I pulled in and ordered a few Empanadas and a Cuban sandwich. The empanadas were very good, and went well with their green hot sauce and my inca kola. The Cuban sandwich was good, but could have used a few more minutes under the press. Great taste, nice melted cheese, good flavor. The bread was very crispy, but I like the outside my Cuban a little darker than most IMO. I wished I had tried more of the menu so I can give a better report, but I am eager to try the rest of the menu and see how it stacks to the La Unica Devon location.

Speaking of...

I am trying to determine if they are related to the La Unica on Devon. A Yelp review says they are, and a search on their Facebook page makes a slight mention, but nothing to confirm. I will be going back and perhaps ask, as I am interested in trying the Ropa Vieja. ( ETA: They are the same location, asked today when I stopped in.)

(Edit: just read a comment on Facebook confirming they are related to the location in Devon. Jorge the Cuban chef alternates locations apparently.)

Overall, I think it makes a very good option out in Schaumburg and a unique choice that stands it among the growing Asian, Indian, places that dot Schaumburg. (Still waiting on movement on that Lao Sze Chuan outpost in the old smiling Buddha restaurant)


(2nd edit - adding info)

La Unica Cafe
1083 N Salem Dr
Schaumburg, IL 60194
Closed on Tuesdays

Following up my original post with some pictures as I returned today for lunch.

I have verified that they are one and the same as the location on Devon. They are closed on Tuesdays for food prep, and they do catering.


Today my co-worker and I stopped in and together we ordered a cuban empanada, cuban sandwich, a side of fries, a side of rice, and the ropa vieja special with black beans on the side.

(Apologies in advance for the bad camera phone pics)


Cuban Sandwich

The Cuban sandwich today was cooked a better than last week, as you can see the darker browning on the bread. The bread was dry and crispy, the cheese melted, and the meats blended together for a delicious Cuban.



Cuban Empanada

The empanada was fresh and hot, the pastry was light, flaky, and crispy, and it had a wonderful flavor. The green hot sauce was a good complement to it.



The Ropa Vieja

This was very delicious, the meat was tender, not dry. The sauce was great and the portion was huge. I couldn't finish it. The side of black beans was good as well, had good flavor and not bland.



Side of rice


Really good rice. My friend had it along with his Cuban (which I got to sample) the portion was large, and he had to take half of this home.



Fries

Good fries for what they are. Thick and well cooked, but I enjoyed the other stuff better than the fries.

Overall, glad to have this option in Schaumburg now.

To each his own-the Cuban bread looks way "overcrisped". I'm assuming that was request.

Correct. The first go around there was no dark charring on the bread at all. I asked to have it left in a little longer .

I've been two times and both times the pork has been very dry which bummed me out.

The lechon asado dish and the Cuban sandwich both would have been so much better if the pork had been moist.

On a side note, the bread on my sandwich was ULTRA crisp (almost had me thinking it was stale bread).

Both times have been early evening and place was not busy, a few carry out orders, I was only person eating in
restaurant. Is it busy at lunch? (I'm thinking the above issues may be customer volume oriented)

It isn't super busy at lunch, but busier than you described. I can see where your concerns are coming from and may need to stop inafter work to see if there is a difference between the lunch and dinner food quality.

I've been to La Unica a few times -- most recently, about 3 hours ago.

I hadn't been for a few years, because the last time I was there, on a Sunday at about 1, the line was out the door and no one looked like they would be leaving their tables soon. So finally got back. Not a lot of people, but considering it was 2 in the afternoon, having four tables filled seemed reasonable. My friend and I were the only ones in the place who were speaking English, which was encouraging.

We ordered the Plato Unica -- marinated steak, insanely crisp chicken (not breaded, just fried until the achiote-stained skin was as brittle as spun sugar), rice, black beans, and fried plantains -- and just to try something else, we ordered one Cuban papa relleno -- mashed potato ball stuffed with seasoned ground beef--to split.

It was hard to decide among the many Cuban, Colombian, and Peruvian specialties, but I figured picking a place that bore the restaurant's name was probably safe. I was amused when a group of big men came in, and all of them got the Plato Unica -- because in addition to being tasty, it's a lot of food.

The horchata was refreshing -- less heavy than some places I've had it.

But a delicious meal, reasonably priced. Now I want to go back and try at least a dozen other things on the menu.

Should probably also mention -- though I didn't try it this trip -- there was a small sign on the counter saying they now also offered Miami-style Cuban sandwiches.

This interested me because a couple of years ago, I was in Tampa for a food-writers conference, and they actually did a presentation on the differences between Miami and Tampa style Cuban with a bit of history, including which town seemed to have the stronger claim to having created the sandwich (it seems to be Tampa, in Ybor City, though Miami has not relinquished its claim) -- and then we were served both versions. Both were good, but the Miami version was the version I knew, so that seemed more "right" -- but then I know that "right" usually just means the version one had first, and everything has variations. But maybe time for another "taste off."