I first discovered Cuban food on a business trip to Miami. I instantly fell in love with the comforting flavors of this cuisine. I also found one of my all-time favorite foods – fried plantains! Don’t even get me started on Cuban coffee, café cubano, which is insanely addictive, and the only thing that kept me going each morning after late nights of enjoying Miami’s party scene!

Chicago definitely isn’t Miami, but I’m happy to have found some great Cuban restaurants, such as Habana Libre, Cafe Laguardia, and now 90 Miles Cuban Cafe.

I don’t know why it took me so long to try 90 Miles. Once I discovered that it’s only a couple blocks away from Mr. Man’s apartment, I have been there twice already!

Vintage ads and newspaper clippings line the walls

I just love the neighborhoody feel of this place. It’s small, but not cramped, with a nice outdoor patio as well. Inside there is a counter where you order, a fridge with cold drinks, and then about 10 counter seats. I like the walls papered with vintage Cuban newspaper clippings and ads. I also dig the Cuban music on the stereo! The free water with limes is a nice touch. I definitely appreciated the air conditioning, since it’s been fiercely hot lately!

I’ve only been to 90 Miles in the late afternoon on weekends, around 3 pm. That seems like it would be a slow time, yet they still had a constant flow of customers, and the phone seemed to be ring alot. This place is popular!

The first time Mr. Man and I went, I just wanted to try the basics. We decided to split the Cuban sandwich and the Lechon, which the guy behind the counter said was his favorite. We ordered a side of croquetas, because we LOVE ‘em, and also a side of yuca con mojo, because Mr. Man wanted to try it.

Cubano - Cuban sandwich

A Cuban sandwich is a genius combination of ham, roast pork, swiss cheese, pickles and mustard. This Cuban was good. Really good. Yet somehow I feel like I have had better ones in Miami? I could be embellishing my memory of how good they are in Miami, because Mr. Man LOVED it and kept making yummy noises. I wanted this one to be more flavorful – more hammy, more mustardy.

Lechon sandwich - try not to bite the screen!

The Lechon is a shredded roast pork sammie with lettuce, grilled onions, garlic sauce and my beloved plantains! I found the pork in this sandwich to have a much richer flavor than the Cubano. What really got me was the sweet & savory combination of the pork and the plantains, oh yummo. So good! I’ll be back again for this!

croquetas

I liked the croquetas. The potato was nice and smooth inside with good-sized chunks of ham, and the outside was nice and crisp without being oily. I love the sauce they serve with the croquetas, some kind of spicy mayo. It’s also really good for dipping your sandwich in!

Yuca con mojo - yep, that's ALL garlic!

The yuca con mojo is yucca (cassava?) slathered in garlic sauce. Yuca has the texture of potato, but with a slightly sweeter flavor. I absolutely LOVE garlic, so I love mojo. I think yuca is too much starch for me, but I could see eating this as a side dish instead of mashed or baked potatoes. Apparently this dish is a staple in any Cuban household, so it’s worth a try, at least for the mojo alone, which would be good on ANYTHING!

I couldn’t resist trying one of their pastries with cheese and guava inside. They looked so yummy in the box on the counter, but it wasn’t anything amazing. Oh well.

I had to order a café cubano aka CUBAN CRACK! It’s amazing how a lil cup of espresso can hit you like a ton of bricks! It’s served a a tiny cup, literally about the size of a single serving of creamer. The thing I love about it is that it’s sweetened, so it really cuts the harshness of straight espresso. Next time I will have to try a café con leche, another one of my favorite types of coffee which I drank daily in Madrid. The Cuban style cafe con leche is basically a café cubano mixed with steamed milk.

My next visit was a to-go order. It’s a bit odd that when you eat in, the sandwiches come with some plantain chips, but when you get a sandwich to go, it doesn’t come with anything. This time I ordered a Media Noche for Mr. Man, which is the same as a Cubano, just on sweet bread. The bread is just sweet enough to add another layer of flavor without being overwelming. I chose the Croqueta sandwich. The description said ham, grilled onions and swiss cheese, so despite the name, I thought that’s all it was. Somehow I didn’t think they would ACTUALLY put croquetas on the sandwich along with the ham, onions and cheese! I know, I’m stupid. The sammie was yummy, but a bit of a carb overload!

90 Miles serves some really interesting traditional Cuban soft drinks. On the recommendation of the lady behind the counter, I tried the Materva, which is made of yerba mate. She described it to taste like a “bubbly sweet tea” which I think is spot on. If you like herby flavors, you’ll like this. They also have Iron Beer, which supposedly tastes kinda like Dr. Pepper. Jupiña is pineapple soda. Malta is a carbonated malt beverage. It’s not alcoholic, and I’m told it is quite sweet and has a flavor similar to molasses.

I am certain that 90 Miles will be a frequent dining destination for me. I’ve already decided to try the ropa vieja dinner for my next visit, another one of my favorite Cuban dishes.

Come on down to 90 Miles for some authentic Cuban cuisine in a friendly local atmosphere!

90 Miles has 2 locations – the one in this review is in Roscoe Village. I’ve never been to the Logan Square location, but I gather that its much larger and may even have an expanded menu.

90 Miles Cuban Cafe – Roscoe Village
3101 N Clybourn Ave
(between Barry Ave & Oakley Ave)
Chicago, IL 60618
(773) 248-2822

90 Miles Cuban Cafe – Logan Square
2540 W Armitage Ave
(between Stave St & Bingham St)
Chicago, IL 60647
(773) 227-2822

www.90milescubancafe.com