Here, the top Cuban sandwiches (a.k.a., Cubanos), ranging from an old-school classic that calls for minimalist restraint to another that swaps out Swiss for bandage-wrapped Cheddar and artisanal fromage from the LoireValley.
这Absolute最好的
1。拉弗福特·德百老汇
3395百老汇，第138页Th英石。;212-926-4190
It’s pretty generally agreed that a Cuban sandwich in its ideal form consists of sugar-cured ham, roast pork marinated in the garlic-citrus sauce called mojo, Swiss cheese, sour pickles, and Cuban bread slicked with butter or, depending on the lunch counter, margarine. Mustard is up for debate — some say the juice and tang from the sour pickle is all you need by way of condiments and accessories. You layer the ingredients on the bread, close it up, and smoosh it on a plancha until the outside is as smooth and glossy as the pages of a magazine. (What you don’t do is use a panini press or a George Foreman grill or anything that leaves grill marks, which is considered to be a terrific faux pas, like wearing socks with sandals, or cowboy boots and a suit outside of Texas.)
而在纽约的漂亮Cubanos比比皆是,这classic model has become rare. But there is an excellent holdout up in Harlem at La Flor de Broadway. It’s relatively thin and practically airy. The balance and proportion are perfect, the smooshing technique advanced. No one ingredient outshines another. It’s a whole-is-greater-than-the-sum-of-its-parts sandwich, an eloquent argument in favor of authenticity. The bread, sourced from a Bronx bakery, is key. It’s built wide and rectangular for sound construction, and has a paper-thin crust that when properly plancha’d achieves a profound crispness. Also key is Luis Pantaleon, who’s manned the sandwich station at La Flor (here and at the restaurant’s previous location up the block) for more than 25 years. Pantaleon’s modus operandi is to approach his Cubanos the way Thanksgiving cooks approach turkeys, lavishly basting and generally babying the things so that the flavors meld harmoniously and each sandwich stays crunchy outside and steamy within down to the lastbite.
2。玛贡
136 W. 46Th街。第六Ave.; 212-354-5013
This bustling old Latin luncheonette (bright red counter, bright yellow menu board) dishes up good cheer and soulful chow in equal measure, and also smooshes the city’s second best Cubano. Unlike La Flor’s version, it’s on the sloppy, sluicy side thanks to a no-holds-barred approach to lubrication that calls for garlic sauce, hot sauce, and — most controversially — mayo. More controversy: In addition to slices of roast pork and ham, they toss on salami the way they do in Tampa, Florida, the city that much to Miami’s consternation claims the Cubano as its owninvention.
3。罗马式烤猪肉
110 E. 7Th街。First Ave.;212-777-2151
Tampa sandwich scholars theorize that the Cubano is actually a culinary mash-up, a mulligatawny soup of a sandwich, reflecting the ethnic diversity of that city circa the late 19Thcentury. In other words, it’s Spanish ham, Cuban pork, Jewish pickles, and Italian salami, all pitching in and doing their part. That sets a precedent of sorts for Sara Jenkins’s terrific interpretation, which consists of smoked ham from the Ukrainian butcher down the block, housemade porchetta, Jarlsberg, Israeli pickles, Dijon mustard, and Kewpie mayo — essentially a tasty United Nations of East Village foodstuffs well pressed on a Sullivan St Bakery ciabattaroll.
4。这SpottedPig
314 W. 11Th街，格林威治街；212-620-0393
If it wasn’t restricted to lunch,April Bloomfield的upscale-ingredients超大Cubano油封(猪肉shoulder, prosciutto, Gruyère, pickled chiles, chopped cornichons, arugula salad on the side) might be as popular as her Roquefort burger. It takes as long to make as a La Grenouille soufflé. It costs $20. And you may have to eat it while perched like a shoe salesman on one of the restaurant’s notorious footstools. Worth it, though, for forward-thinking Cubano妖精。
5。Bunk
740 Driggs Ave., nr. S. 2nd英石。;347-763-0434
Bunk的古巴三明治在创新与传统之间取得了不错的平衡。现代主义者会喜欢将两块烤猪（腹部和屁股）融合到一个平板中，而古典主义者可以落后于其精简的外观，即使不是添加芥末和热sauce.
6。Casellula Cheese和葡萄酒Cafe
401 W. 52nd街。第九大道；212-247-8137
在纸上，这是古巴纯粹主义者最糟糕的噩梦。它有两种类型的奶酪，来自加利福尼亚的Fiscalini Cheddar和来自卢瓦尔谷的法国Fol Epi，更不用说里克的挑选的面包酱和蒜泥蛋黄酱了。(Putting aioli on a Cuban sandwich is considered a criminal act in certain parts of Florida.) To be fair, they don’t dare call it a Cubano but rather a Pig’s Ass Sandwich, alluding to the two types of pork butt (a.k.a. shoulder) they cram into the thing — one that’s been brined and glazed with maple syrup like a baked ham, the other one rubbed with a slew of spices and Peet’s coffee then slow-roasted. But what can we say? It’s in the Cuban-sandwich ballpark, and it’s damn good.