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.

El Siboney

5800 Overseas Hwy
Marathon, FL 33050
(305) 743-9090
Website

The Key's are obviously known for their seafood. That is without question. But on my recent voyage to the promised land, where the beer flows like water and the fish travel in schools by the million, I had a chance to embrace some delicious Cuban food to go along with the obligatory snapper, spiny lobster and stone crabs I had been feasting on. I hit the Marathon outpost of El Siboney, the original is located in Key West.

The first thing to note about El Siboney is the prices. They are outrageously affordable. Like any good Cuban place, you will get started on some bread. It comes out hot, with a light, fluffy interior, similar to a large Italian roll you would get at the local grocery store up here in Philly. Not the gourmet Sarcone's or similar offerings, but the cheap Shop Rite or Super Fresh style bread that you can also buy pre-buttered. Shutter. However, this bread is flat, fluffy, and delicious. It's the same bread you will see featured in my forth coming Cuban mix sandwich. Before we cross that bridge, however, we need to talk plantains. Fried ones. Mariquitas con Mojo. Fried plantain strips, that are thin and addictively crispy, not to mention incredibly fun to eat, as they twist up when you add them to the hot oil. But the sauce is where its at. A simple mixture of olive oil, lime juice, garlic, and onion transforms into a tart, strikingly flavor-packed accompaniment. Simple perfection. A must try. At $3.25, they are not too hard on the wallet, either.

They had a special of the day, beef stew, that I guess was supposed to only be available at lunch. As it was an early dinner, they graciously offered us a portion, and maintained the whopping $7.25 price tag. Served with some fried sweet plantains, yellow rice and black beans, this was a hell of a deal. The beef stew had a hearty, homey flavor that could have passed for an American version of the same meal, save for a nutmeg or cinnamon type flavor that coaxed my taste buds back to the island. The plantains were delicious, sweet, tender and had the creamy texture I love from these overripe Cuban staples. The rice and beans were okay, but lacked some of the flavors that their comrades (too soon?) boasted.

I also had to order the mixed Cuban sandwich, as I am quite partial to a good sandwich, and it had been a while since I had one that I truly enjoyed (besides when I break out my own sandwich press and go to town). El Siboney did not disappoint. Everything that makes a Cuban great was in there. Tender pork, salty ham, swiss cheese, and pickles. They even used regular old yellow mustard, which I usually hate, but it has its place in limited applications (see Cuban Sandwich). The best part of the whole sandwich? The bread. This is the real deal Cuban bread, buttered and pressed into a thin package that delivered everything a Cuban should. As you can see, I am surely hooked on the bread. Light, crusty and flaky, it held together perfectly, and kept all of the ingredients from sliding out the back.