Paladar Cubano

I’m sad that this Cuban Food Truck is CLOSED! I dreamt of their food often. What happened?!
Pedrito, the owner of Paladar Cubano, has a band (Grupo Ashé) and they will be performing out this way for an outdoor concert in Yakima on ⁹⁄₃ at the Seasons (
). I’ll be sure to get the 411 with what happened to my good friend Paladar Cubano.

Just finished my Pan Con Lechon and I would have to say Paseo’s Cuban sandwiches are tastier. However, I do like the varieties offered here because of the fried plantains and the fried yucas that I can’t get anywhere else. Adding the Latin music in the background, it’s a perfect place to go if you like messy finger licking quick bites.
Surprisingly, they don’t have any kind of hot sauce available!!! Come on, how can you have any type of meat with a bit of hot sauce or jalepenos for your die hard fans???

I tried the Pan Con Lechon. It was soooo good! It has grilled onions and this herbed mayo. It was just as good as the Cubano, but different. I also had a shot of the Café Cubano. It was sweet and rich. It made me very happy.
My wife was only so-​so about her roast chicken sandwich, but loved and I mean LOVED the rice and beans and fried plantains.

I pity the unsuspecting, famished souls whose hunger led them to foolishly find sustenance across the street at Taco Bell. Little do they know, just a few steps away, sits an unassuming, affordable and tasty Cuban food truck. Thanks to their oblivion, I found an easy parking space in the tiny lot and no line. We had the:
Sandwich de Puerco ($ 6.50): marinated grilled pork, garlic sauce, lettuce and grilled onions on cuban bread — this sandwich is very similar to the Cuban Roast at Paseo except the pork is sliced thin and the bread is not a baguette. The meat (a bit dry) and grilled onions (sparse) were not as good as Paseo’s, but it was still tasty. For $ 3 cheaper than Paseo, a very good alternative.
Cubano ($ 6.50): several slices of ham, cheese, pickles, mustard, and a thin slice of roast pork on cuban bread — my hubby liked this sandwich more, I preferred the first sandwich, different strokes for different folks I suppose. I thought this sandwich tasted too run of the mill.
Yuca Frita ($ 2.50): fried yuca with garlic sauce — this was pretty tasty, but only 5 pieces?
Jupina ($ 1.50): pineapple soda, no high fructose corn syrup, nice! This was my first pineapple soda and now I’m hooked. I bought a Jarritos brand one ($ 0.70) at the grocery store the next day and it was similarly tasty, YUM!
I suggest that you eat the sandwiches asap, condensation is not a friend to the thin Cuban bread.
Service was fast (8 minutes to get my order) and friendly, sandwiches are huge (and oily), tax is included in the posted prices, and they are now open on Sundays 11:30am-4pm! They have two picnic tables set up under a canopy if you want to eat there.
Great Cuban food truck!

YUM! We were craving Cuban sandwiches but were too lazy to head to Paseo. So, since it is slightly closer we tried Paladar Cubano instead. Zowie! Good stuff!
Hubs had the Cubano sandwich (Ham, cheese, roast pork, pickles, mustard on cuban bread) and I tried the Pan con Lechon (Shredded roast pork with grilled onions on cuban bread). We got them to go and brought them back for lunch at home — and both were positively divine! The melding of flavors between the cuban bread was a thing of beauty… and we will be back. Soon.

This place has been on my ‘to try’ list for a couple years. It’s close to home and offers a more genuine Cuban experience. Ok, great!
After a long day of yard work on empty (bad idea, but at least dirt is soft), we called ahead for an order of the Cubano sandwich, Pan Con Bistec (steak) sandwich, and the roast pork plate. We were ravenous!
In 15mins we headed over there. You can only access it off of 90^th, so the turns can be tight, especially if you’re coming from Aurora. We pulled in and there was no one else in the lot, so at first we were like: what? But after several minutes, the parking lot began to fill up. All the food came out to be about $ 20, cash.
Rushed home to shovel the food. The cubano sandwich is definitely tasty, pressed flat, melty, meaty… I liked how the pickle and mustard were already in there. The steak sandwich was just ok. It wasn’t cut in half like the cubano, so it was harder to eat. The meat was a bit tougher and the bread kind of fell apart when you were gnawing on it.
The pork plate was also just ok. There was plenty of moros (black beans and rice cooked together), which would have been great except it was kind of dry and bland. The pieces of pork were nice and moist, but you only got a few pieces.
The maduros (fried sweet plantains) were DA BOMB.
In sum, I would definitely order the cubano sandwich and two orders of maduros next time. I’ll keep trying other items on their menu too (especially the sodas), of course!

Que rico! Paladar Cubano proved to be most worth our trek north up Aurora yesterday. This is the place to go for inexpensive, hearty, delicious sandwiches that are actually AUTHENTIC Cuban… sorry Paseo, you may be tasty, but authentic you most defintely are not.
Service is no-​nonsense, there are no restrooms, and they sell sodas but no water. Plan accordingly. $ 6.50 bought me a ginormous standard Cuban sandwich of ham, pork, pickles, cheese, and mustard squished between thin toasted bread. It was excellent, and just one half (plus a super-​sweet pineapple soda) was enough to satisfy my not-​insignificant appetite. My friend enjoyed a cheese-​free shredded pork sandwich, with pickles added at her request. She did find one piece of pork that seemed a bit suspect due to a gristle/​fat situation, but it was discarded without incident.
Though we were pretty stuffed by our half-​sandwiches, we did sample the sweet fried plantains (Maduros), which had very nice caramelization. A drizzle of sweetened condensed milk would have really brought them home. On my next visit, I’m definitely trying the fried yucca with garlic sauce… but I’m not sure I’ll be able to vary from that delicious Cuban sandwich!

Our Cuban chefs, who art at Paladar Cubano, hallowed be thy names. Thy lineups come, thy sandwiches will be done, on Earth, though they taste like heaven.
Give us this day, our daily Sandwich de Puerco, and forgive us our impatience while waiting for it, as we forgive those who take forever to order because it all sounds so good, and lead us not into temptation to order more than one side because o god, the croquetas, but o man, the maduros, but o LORD, the tostones, and don’t even get me started on the yuca frita.
But deliver us from Taco Bell, the uninspired mediocrity across the street. For thine is the garlic sauce, the pineapple soda and the most flavorful beans and rice ever, forever and ever. Amen.

At first glance it ain’t much. Hell, it’s a food truck with an awning in a gravel lot but who cares, this place is DAMN good! I’ve bitched enough times and rather vociferously, I might add, about the lack of proper Cuban in Seattle. I like Paseo but they’re not strictly Cuban.
Hey Versailles, want to open a location in the Pacific northwest? No? Boo: (… but wait! The fates were kind enough to bestow us with a place that offered good Cuban food! And it’s not overpriced either!
I was there a couple of weeks ago and they have removed the Mexican items to add more Cuban choices. Yay for more Cuban dishes! One of my favourite meals is the sandwich de pollo asado — shredded roasted chicken with grilled onions on Cuban bread, an order of the yuca frita with that garlic sauce (nom nom nom) and an ice cold Iron Beer. Don’t even get me rhapsodizing on their sweet sweet maduros…
Do not get a regular old American soda with your meal, branch out and try something else. Get a coffee or try one of their batidos de frutas, the mango one is especially tasty! Sample one of their Cuban soft drinks. Unless they are out, they usually have Jupiña (pineapple soda), Materva (tastes like bubble gum) and my absolute favourite… Iron Beer (described as a fruity Dr. Pepper).
They accept cash only and bring your Purell. There’s no bathrooms unless you schlep across the street to Taco Bell. There are only two picnic tables so it might behoove you to get takeaway or eat in your car if you are able. I’ve never been when they are super busy but I imagine during the lunch rush, it can get pretty busy.

I can only attest to the Cubano sandwich, mamey batida and yucca fries that I ate, but what I got was GOOD! My aunt/​uncle brought me lunch while I was @ work on a Saturday. They said that they arrived @ Paladar right when they opened and a line was starting to form. Service was polite/​quick/​efficient.
I thought that $ 7.50 was a bit pricey for a sanwich… then when I saw it in person, whoa! BIG is putting it mildly. Sliced on a bias, it’s really two sandwiches b/​c I seriously made a meal out of one half, so, yeah, it’s THAT big. (approx. 12×5″)
Mamey batida was like a caramel-​y shake, yucca fries were a great consistency of crispy outside and tender/​moist inside. Definitely need to go back and will update.

This is the real deal!!!
Grilled chicken sandwich, (salivating) soooooooooooo yummy!
with the smell of the grilled chicken with the grilled onions and the bread… heaven!!!
now here comes nina’s cuban concoction —
grilled chicken sandwich + tostones inside the sandwich + the garlic sauce from the yuca frita!!! and it is HEAVEN!
for dessert — sweet plantains with a cup of espresso. their espresso is $ 1 DOLLAR!!! sold!!!
soooo good! remember to bring cash!!! I love paseo, but paladar is the authentic!!!

Husband — Cuban
— Just moved from Florida.
— Misses his mom’s cooking
— Said he could tell as soon as he smelled the sandwich it was gonna be good.
— Hated yucca in Florida but said the fried Yucca was awesome. I think I even saw a tear in his eye as he ate. ;)
— Said he will be back
Authentic Cuban food, period.

First of all: Cash Only. Small bills are easiest, as they don’t appear to have much change on hand. I bought $ 11.50 worth of food, with a $ 20, and had to wait for about 20min for someone to run to the bank to make change.
These things happen. I don’t mind them, on a lazy day off of work. But just keep this in mind — don’t go here on your short, perfectly-​timed lunch break.
So far, I’ve only eaten the Cubano sandwich with Tostones. Fried Plantains are delicious (a great substitute for fries), and the sandwich was decent. Perhaps a bit heavy on cheese for my tastes, but large and decent. However, the standout was the Mango Milkshake. Oh, how delicious it was. I could drink them all day.
The sodas, sadly, were a HFCS nightmare. I’m surprised that Cuba uses corn sweeteners, given their abundance of raw sugar. All the more reason to go the Mango Milkshake route (which toutes sugar as the core sweetener).
Honestly, I could easily see this place kicking some serious ass. The only thing that could use some improvement is the meat quality. The ham was obviously a cheap ‘lunch ham’, with faux skin and all. For an ‘authentic’ Cuban taco truck, I’d expect a freshly roasted pork butt, daily. Were that the case, you’d see me here on a daily basis.
All in all, the place is worth checking out. The owners are nice and quirky. For $ 11, you’ll go home satisfied. As an added bonus, you’ll have supported a small business in Seattle.

I have visited Seattle several times now. But I didn’t have the opportunity to taste cuban food there and heard about this lovely and cute cuban restaurant. We ordered roasted chicken sandwiches, some tostones and fried yuca. Mmmm delicious! I think they have brought to Seattle the authentic taste of Cuban food. It only needs a bigger place to sit and relax from the cold wheather!

I’m in love with a Cuban Taco truck and I don’t even know her name. This will put the others to shame. SHAME! I haven’t had Cuban food so good in years. Pillowy tostones. Geez I’m saying pillowy puffy delicious that’s right. Yuca fries that will make you hate the potato forever. AND the best part is this crazy garlic homemade sauce with a touch of culantro not cilantro I think. Ask for and pay for extra. The sauce won’t last the third bite. I ordered the typical cubano sandwich and was taken back to the little deli counter in Spanish Harlem from my youth. Some things remind and others take you back home. As I get all teary I’ll slurp the bottom of my mamey milkshake.
Can we go steady?

Paladar Cubano tiene some good mierda.
Have you tried Iron Beer? It’s not beer, but a soda that is a bit cream soda, a bit cherry, and a whole heck of a lot of delicious.
Valentina got the table of us some tostones, which weren’t greasy at all and came with a garlic type aioli.
I ordered the media noche, which I am glad I did. The bread is thin, and has a touch of sweetness to it, that reminded me of King’s Hawaiian Bread (which I LOVE). It was packed with an abundance of meat, cheese, pickles, mustard making for a perfect taste combination. Gabriel was kind enough to let me try the rice and beans, which may be some of the best rice and beans combos I have ever had. Tony G’s order took the longest, but after trying some of his sandwich, I think he was glad he ordered what he did.
I was very satisfied with Paladar Cubano, and I am still full a couple hours later. I spent a whopping seven bucks, and got plenty of food. I will be back.

Ñoooo! ¡Que Barato!
Y que rico!
Oh, man.
I ate a little bit of everything tonight.
OKAY:
I had a Materva and a Jupiña. I had a medianoche and tostones and yuca and arroz con frijoles and a cafesito and probably some other stuff too.
This, not that other place, is the good cuban food in Seattle. CABALLERO, I suggest you get to Paladar Cubano asap. Remember to take cash, because they don’t take cards.
For real. Que rico. I can’t believe how good it was and how I dropped something like $ 7.50 to stuff myself beyond belief.
The only downside is that there’s a wait for your food, because it’s all made from scratch.
Personally, I don’t care. I’d rather it be made from scratch and take about 10 min than be pre-​frozen mierda.

After reading some threads on Paseos’s and Cuban sandwiches, I decided to try Eduardo’s recommendation for an authentic Cuban sandwich at Paladar Cubano. So I made my way to the food truck on the scenic corner of 90^th and Aurora and was definitely not disappointed. What was interesting is that the slices of roast pork, ham, and pickle were all the same thickness. Add in some perfectly grilled bread and mustard and you get one very flavorful sandwich. Service was a bit slow (took about 25 minutes) but well-​worth the wait. Next time I’ll try the puerco asado or ropa vieja and a side of ham croquettes.
Going back to the thread on authentic Cuban sandwiches, Paseo’s is revered and rightfully so, but those expecting a sandwich with chunks of roast pork, sauce, and mayo, will be disappointed. It was interesting to see that the version at Paladar resembles the pathetic excuse for a sandwich at Elysian more than Paseo’s. And the version at Paladar resembles the sandwiches I had while living I the East Cost.
Paladar just continues to confirm that Seattle has some very good food trucks — if you know where to find them.

I really loved them the first time. They have lost ground each time though (3)…The second time they burnt my cubano sandwhich and still served it to me. Seemed ticked I asked them to remake it. I get the pressed grill– marked sammie thing. I dont get charred…
Third time and probably the last… I got my cubano without the ham! Imagine the picture below without that delicious dripping ham and half the pork. No mention they were out of ham. Gladly took my $ 6.50. Gladly took my tip. Got in the car and opened it up to find a few super thin slices of the pork and barely any pickles. I walked back and asked what was up and got, «oh yeah sorry we ran out of ham.»
Oh yeah sorry, your out of a Unilocaling customer…

First impression: the area is sketchy, its off of hwy 99 (aurora) & 90^th. But, curiosity had the best of me, and I HAD to try it out.
I went later in the day, so when I ordered she was already out of a lot of the meat, luckily for me I had the last bit of pork that was left. I really wanted to try the Cubano — which has ham, cheese, roasted pork, pickles, mustard on Cuban bread! Alias, had to get my 2^nd choice which was the grilled pork & grilled onions on Cuban bread —
The place is legit. The sandwich was bomb. Lots of flavor, loved the bread & the pork — Not as big & messy as Paseo’s but nonetheless tasted authentic and just as good to me — a simpler version.
Of course, cash only.