El Cubo de Cuba

This food cart is one of my favorites in Portland. I love the food, everything is delicious, perfectly cooked and so delightful. The kind person who took my order didn’t seem to be in a hurry and carefully took my order as though i was the only one in line. She asked me questions to help me find the perfect choice and to make sure I enjoyed it. The end result: it was amazing! An extra plus is that they take credit/​debit cards so no need to fiddle with cash. The only downside is that the prices are higher than other food carts and there is a charge (I think) for using my card. However, you get a great value for your money.

We had the sweet potato fries and they were really good. Like REALLY good! I plan to be back and actually try some food!

Ate here instead of the location on 10^th and the same Cuban deliciousness was served to me. The Cuban food at both carts is the best I have eaten in Portland. I just wish they served Congri.

Made a quick stop at the food carts as I was downtown and decided on this one. The Cuban sandwich was good, not the greatest, but better than many other sandwiches that have been called a Cuban in my lifetime. I got a side of Tostones which were excellent. Overall it was a good value at $ 7.95
It didn’t blow me out of the water, but if I’m craving a Cuban sandwich, this is not a bad option.

I admit it, I have tried other cart’s offerings of pork. None of them hold a candle to El Cubo de Cuba. The pork is succulent and delicious. The beans are flavorful. The tostones are AMAZING! Seriously, open your box immediately and eat them while they are hot. It is imperative that you eat them right away. Once you start, you won’t be able to stop anyway.
The staff is super friendly and helpful. And, to top it all off, they have GoBoxes!

El Cubo de Cuba makes oustanding box lunches. I had the pleasure of ordering the pork, and it did not disappoint — I’d never tried tostones before, but man, I’ve been missing out. EAT HERE. The black beans were heaven, the pork was excellent, and the tostones were an incredible new favorite snack for me.

Celebrate the new year by going back to Cuba. I’ve been on a bit of a wait as El Cubo closed for the month of December. Its a regular part of my foodcart circuit as I eat out from work nearly every day.
The food is good, the service nice. They’ll even let you bring your own container. I tend to gravitate towards the ropa veija with black beans and tater tots. I’m pretty sure they add the black beans just because I ask them to.
Next time, instead of hitting one of the 1000 Thai carts in the blocks between 3^rd and 5^th, Oak and Stark, try something a little different.

Oh my god that pork had some super flavor to it. Some of the best I have ever had. Funny thing is I did no research on this place. Was over in this part of town because my bank is here and I decided to walk across the street to get some lunch. As soon as I saw the sign I knew Cuban was what I wanted on this day.
For $ 7.50 you can get one of their box lunches. They have pork, beef, veggie and possibly chicken? They also have a Cuban sandwich and a few other things on the menu that I can’t remember. I went with the pork because pork is what I was craving. It comes with a side of rice (for 50 cents extra you can make that rice brown), black beans and your choice of a side. I didn’t know which side to get so I asked the woman which she liked and she said I could get a bit of each. That is what I did. Tostones (green plantain slices that were fried and salted) and I believe the other side was Platanos Fritos (fried bananas). The Tostones were perfectly salted with a nice crunch. Not oily at all. The fried bananas were amazing. I could eat those all day.
The pork here is outstanding. Words can’t describe that flavors that were coming out of this box lunch. I am in love with this cart and I hope to get back soon to try some of the other things they are cooking up.

When I’m eating meat — which is pretty much two meals out of every day — I do what most people in my culture do, which is not think about the animal that is no longer living on account of me eating it.
But I can’t help thinking that beef cattle in our culture are particularly unlucky. If they had just been born dairy cattle they could feed us without actually dying. And if they had been born in a Hindu country they would pretty much have the run of everything. But no. Here they are in the wild west and it’s not looking good for them.
I’d say if one were stuck with the bad karma to be born a beef steer the very best you could hope for would be to end up in a box of Ropa Vieja from el Cubo de Cuba. It might be very little consolation but at least with the marinades and the peppers they artfully blend up, this little cart has conjured the very best flavor out of shredded beef and maybe you could feel like it was kind of worth it.
Besides this delicious box o’ meat, they fry up delicious tostones and also make a few Caribbean style smoothies. Plus they are super nice. Go there. If you’re a cow you should probably wear some kind of disguise so you don’t end up in a box.

Hondurus food — was good.

On a day where I was on the lookout for something I haven’t tried before, I found this cart, serving up Cuban box lunches, making their name very literal indeed. I opted for the Cubo de Pollo, a box with 2 pieces of baked chicken (a thigh and a leg), very generous portions of white rice and Cuban black beans, and a choice of side, of which I opted for the tostones (green plantain slices, fried & salted).
You get a lot of good food for the price, so it’s completely worth it. They take debit cards (for a now-​becoming-​increasingly-​standard $ 0.50 upcharge), so that’s a plus for convenience. They also offer pork, beef, and vegetarian options for the entrée, as well as a Cuban sandwich that sounded good, so I’ll definitely be back to try everything else.

So, after my beloved Cuban food cart in SE Portland closed down earlier this year I’ve been trying to find another place that can satisfy my cravings for a good Cuban sandwich and crispy Tostones… I think I’ve found it!
I’ve never been to the original cart up on 10^th because it’s not that close to my work, so I was excited when the second cart opened at 5^th and Oak. My Cuban sandwich was great. The mojo sauce and the pork were super yummy! The tostones were everything I’d been missing… crispy and salty.
Can’t wait to go back and try more of their dishes.