Sandwich at Unica

First, I have to say that I am new to this forum and I really enjoy it.

Many people here mention Unica for their Cubano sandwich, basically a roast pork, ham cheeze and other condiments toasted. That sounded great. And so, I finally made it there today with a friend all excited. I have to say it was really disappointing. The best part about the whole trip was the actual store and the atmoshpere...

I ordered the sandwich with a side order of black beans and rice. The sandwich took a while but finally the guy brought it over with a huge plate of black beans and rice mixed together.

Sandwich: It is made on a french/torta type bread that was toasted. Quite ordinary. It actually seemed that the bread was a day old. Inside the sandwich was a few slices of what looked like fat slices and roast pork, hardly 2 slices in all, on top of a mound of ham and cheeze, pickles, mustard... All I (and my friend) could taste was really the combination of bread/mustard/cheeze and ham, something I do often at home with much much better taste. I peeled with my hands one or two slices of pork, very fatty and salty with this taste that reminded me of a greazy street gyro. I have had fresh roast pork sandwiches in many places and this definitely does not come close.

Rice and beans: As far as rice and black beans go, they were average at best. nothing special.

The problem was that my expectations were really high before I walked in. I am afraid that next time I am in the area, I much rather stop at one of those tacquerias on Clark and have a taco... or may be someone can assure me that I was unlucky today and that this happens only everyonce in a while at Unica....

Eli

Welcome.

Let me first assure you that you seem to have been unlucky. I also would consider whether you actually like Cuban sandwiches. Many good people do not. They can be very dry by nature (though I have heard people complain about them being too greasy because butter is often used, so go figure) and should be had with a cafe con leche or a potage such as the very good garbanzos at La Unica or a fabada or caldo gallego, etc. I often get a medianoche if the soft, yellow egg bread is available. Same sandwich, different (less dry) bread.

Moros y Cristianos, sometimes also called congri, are likely the "black beans mixed with rice" you had, unless they simply poured black beans onto white rice. In point of fact, moros are not simply "black beans and rice mixed together"; they are cooked together with pork, olive oil, garlic and other ingredients to make a "sofrito" in a cheap but rather involved recipe. Cubans, including those at La Unica never, ever mix "regular" frijoles negros with rice before serving. I won't bore you with the recipe for moros, but I will vouch for La Unica's version. Again, correct moros are rather dry. One needs to be eating something else that is "wet" such as picadillo or ropa vieja. I'd say a Cuban and a plate of moros is a recipe for disaster or at least extreme dryness at a Cuban joint.

Regarding the pork, La Unica absolutely makes some of the best lechon in Chicago, selling it by the pound on weekends. It has fat, is fatty, not unlike Mexican carnitas which are slowly boiled in lard. That's how it is. They do not "gringo down" the food, though they might make one an extra-lean sandwich if asked. I'd say it is pretty odd to get only fat, and not much of it, to paraphrase Woody Allen.

Oh, and the French/Torta type bread is pan Cubano, Cuban bread. (And, a torta is a sandwich, at least in Mexico. The bread for a torta can be a bolillo, telera, pambazo, semita, etc.) Though La Unica's Cuban bread is not up to the standards of South Florida Cuban bread, it is a game approximation baked by a Mexican or Colombian bakery to La Unica's specifications.

Lest it seem like I'm being overly defensive or critical on La Unica's behalf, let me say I am trying not to be. In any event, La Unica, well known here and in the Latin community, hardly needs my defense. More importantly, based on my own experience, La Unica is "authentic" and very solid in the kitchen most days. Assuming that you do not simply dislike this type of food in general, your poor experience is unusual.

On a more positive note, please identify for us the other pork sandwiches you mentioned you have had and enjoyed around town.

On a more positive note, please identify for us the other pork sandwiches you mentioned you have had and enjoyed around town.

Actually, most of the roast pork sandwiches I had were in NYC (we just moved here recently). For example, try havana chelsea, or faicco's in the village. There are others... These might not be as "authentic" as Unica, but nonetheless it is a roasted pork sandwich that they offer.

Although I am no Cuban food connoisseur, I do not dislike it. Regardless of what or how, the sandwich I had today, to me, is average at best. But I recognize that one try is not a good test. I will go there again (soon) and post again. Thanks for your explanations and input.
Eli

In my opinion, La Unica is the best Cuban sandwich in this city. Cafe Marianano (sp?) comes in a close second.

To me, dry with only a few slices of meat, epitomizes a good Cuban sandwich. It's as much about the texture of the pressed Cuban bread, as it is about what's inside.

First, welcome to Chicago. I'm sure that you will grow to love it here as I have over the past three years.

Having eaten many a Cuban at Havana Chelsea, I can tell you that the leaner pork seems to be a thing more reminiscient of New York than Havana. My experience in Chicago is that the restaurants that serve the food of the Carribean (Dominican and Puerto Rican predominantly here), tend to serve the more fuller flavored fatty pork from the leg flavored heavily with garlic. I got to know the owners of HC (who, by the way are Dominican) in New York used to serve a pork loin on their Cubans because, as they told me once, "The Neighborhood Boys want lean."

I've never been to Cuba. And, I can't tell you whether the HC sandwich is more authentic than La Unica. But, I will tell you this. I think that you'll find that Chicago's ethnic cooks really strive for authenticity more so than their counterparts in Manhattan. Queens, Brooklyn and New Jersey are different stories.

On another note: Just what the heck did they do to La Chinita Linda? I used to love that place for a cheap bite and some surly service. Last time I was in town, they had dressed it up pretty and all but removed most of the Cuban dishes from the menu in favor of Chinese.

I can see why a place such as La Unica might foil expectations if the baseline is Havana Chelsea.

If you really enjoy the pork on a pork sandwich, I would recommend the often-overlooked pan con lechon. Literally, this just means bread with roast pork, but what one usually gets is much more pork, plus onions and mojo de ajo. I ask for extra mojo. The now-shuttered Ambassador had a fine pan con lechon. I am looking for a replacement. Since I enjoy La Unica's lechon and their mojo, that will probably be it. Other specifically Cuban, and less-dry sammies to try are pan con picadillo, pan con ropa vieja, croqueta sandwiches (a strange sandwich filled with ham or chicken croquettes, a starch sandwich in the spirit of the mother-in-law or the panelle sandwich), and the steak sandwiches at Marianao.

Also, I'm not sure what your torta experience was in NYC, but there is a lot to explore here. A good place to start is at Dona Torta, a torta specialist on Ashland near Barry, I think, in Lakeview. Not the best in town, but they are very good, have lots of variety, have parking, and serve the dreaded perrito caliente. The Cubana bears no resemblance to a Cuban sandwich. In Mexico, foods described as "Cuban" often tend toward the baroque, and include everything.

Being a long time La Unica fan, I've been reading up on LTH's take. I enjoy the sandwich cubano just as much as the next guy, whether it's accompanied by the black beans and rice thing, plantains (i like the softer riper ones as opposed to the green, unripe, dry ones--i can never remember if the ones i like are called tostones or..?), yuca (which is garlicy and awesome--and, up till now, hasn't gotten the praise it deserves), the chickpea soup, or all of the above.
The dish at La Unica which I feel has received no attention (and I've been scouring the archives) but is, nonetheless, probably my favorite dish here, is the Chicken in Mole Verde. For 5 (or 6?) bucks, it's more than the other, smaller, items, but the green mole is savory and pretty spot on. True, I'm not an expert on mole--but I know what I dig. I therefore offer up a recommendation to the forum: try La Unica's Mole.

here's eating you, kid.

I really like everything I've ever had at La Unica except black bean, which I only had once. They had to have been from a can.

sstaley wrote:I really like everything I've ever had at La Unica except black bean, which I only had once. They had to have been from a can.

Sstaley,

I very much enjoy La Unica's beans and disagree they are from a can. To my taste the soupy black beans have a rich silky slow simmered flavor, I can just about make a meal from a mound of white rice with La Unica's black beans.

Enjoy,
Gary

La Unica
1515 W. Devon Ave
Chicago, IL
773-274-7788.

In response to 1.5 year old posts: I had the distinct displeasure of trying Havana Chelsea's Cuban sandwich a few months ago. I thought it was terrible. Although the bread was fairly good in terms of density and press, the sandwich lacked any real flavor. Not to mention that the place is pretty much a dump and not in the charming, ethnic hole-in-the-wall sort of style. I'm baffled as to why the place is often touted as having the best Cuban sandwich in Manhattan and would choose La Unica's version any day.