Sandy's Cafe

1026 White St.
Key West, FL 33040
(305) 295-0159

For my final installment of Florida Key's eating, I saved the best for last. I can't stress enough the importance of going to Sandy's Cafe upon any visit to Key West. If you want 24 hour street food, you have come to the right spot. The food here is magical. One of my biggest disappointments of the trip was forgetting the other half of my gigantic Cuban sandwich in my car overnight, thus rendering it inedible for my foggy breakfast the next morning.

When you walk up, you will be greeted with a menu over the ordering window, which advises you to "Think Big." Noted. If you look through said ordering window, you will see that this hidden gem is indeed part of a laundromat, so you know its going to be delicious.

 

I went with the steak tacos, Cuban bread and Cuban sandwich. We grabbed some cans of beer from the grocery store across the street, finagled a seat next to the window where could watch the grill master work, and enjoyed the show. Heaven. By the way, Key West is LAX (and I don't mean the airport) when it comes to open containers, so I am pretty sure you will have no problem brown-bagging it while waiting for your food. No one seemed to bat an eye at us.

The steak tacos were the first victims. They were absolutely incredible. Tender, flavorful steak, chopped with onions on the grill, covered in cheese, and finished with cilantro. Simple perfection. I was blown away at the tender bites of steak, failing to run across even one chewy or gristly piece. I never knew Cuban-made Mexican tacos would be so fulfilling. They do them better than the vast majority of Mexican places at which I have eaten.

The Cuban bread was ordered on a whim, as it was $1, and I wanted to try it against the disappointing offering at Mo's a couple of doors down. Obviously, it was in a league of its own, and cost $2 less than its upscale competitor.

Thin, moist bread covered with a generous amount of garlicy butter, this is what Cuban bread is meant to be.

Last but not least, the long awaited Cubano! This thing was seriously massive, as you can see by the amount of space it fills in the Styrofoam to-go container pictured below. The french fries were delicious, thin, salty, and a real kicker when dipped into their extremely spicy hot sauce (you have to ask for a side).

The sandwich itself, well, it was one of my favorites I have ever eaten. A thicker bread than El Siboney, but more packed with delicious ingredients.

There was an ample portion of roast pork, supplemented with thinly sliced ham, pickles, Swiss, mayo and mustard. Creamy, salty, tangy and delicious. Damn, I am craving one right now.

If you are in the Key West area, move away from Duval and head towards White. You will be glad you did. Did I mention they are open 24 hours??? Cash only, and don't be surprised if there is a line, and you may have to get creative with the seating.