Is a Cubano Really Cuban?

According to this wikipedia entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuban_sandwich the exact origins of the Cubano are somewhat murky. A version of the ham and cheese sandwich was created for Cuban workers, but traveled with immigrants to Florida and evolved into a sandwich filled with melted swiss cheese, thinly sliced pickles, roast pork, ham, and salami sandwiched between 2 pieces of crusty Cuban bread (something halfway between Subway bread and a baguette).


C & J had been planning for the past few months to try Margon, a classy midtown hole-in-the-wall that was made famous by yelpers for their $6.95 Cubano. Unfortunately, work got in the way, and C didn't manage to make it over until today. The verdict? Two greasy thumbs up!

The joint resembles a slightly run-down deli/diner with absolutely no indication that it could possibly produce anything remotely delicious except for a crowd of blue-collar office workers lining up along the counter with open paper bags to catch the steaming hot sandwiches as they came off the grill. C was intrigued by the assembly-line efficiency perfected by a single sandwich master, who would first lay out huge loaves of cuban bread filled with the works (salami, roast pork, ham, swiss cheese), slice the sandwiches into segments, then would take off the tops and line them neatly onto one of the sandwich pressers to grill. The remaining half of the sandwich would go face down on another foil-covered sandwich press until they were flat and the cheese was sufficiently melted. Then, he would pull off the meat-laden half of the sandwich, squirt mustard, some kind of mayo-looking sauce and layer on thinly sliced pickles before placing back a grilled piece of bread on top. For each completed sandwich, he would thoughtfully slice it into 3 segments for ease of handling. All sandwiches came off the grill steaming hot and would be immediately wrapped in foil and dropped into eagerly awaiting paper bags.

My first impression of the sandwich was that it smelled phenomenal (if somewhat like grease), and the first bite reminded me of biting into a McDonald's cheeseburger (i think it was the effect of the pickles, cheese and magic sauce that tasted somewhat like big mac sauce). The roast pork, salami and ham with all of its drippings rounded out the taste profile to provide for a tangy, savory, and completely satisfying experience. This is definitely not a diet-friendly feast (no calorie-count offered here), but definitely a must-try for lunchers in midtown looking for a satisfying treat!