I must admit that most reviews I have done for this site have been for restaurants that I’ve visited in the past. These are restaurants that, for the most part, I’ve had a good experience with. Hey, after all, you go with what you know, especially when it comes to starting a new venture such as this web site. Yesterday’s review was no different. The restaurant I visited I had actually tried, almost a year ago, yet hadn’t been back since. I know, you’re thinking, “This can’t possibly be a good review.” Well, read on about my experience with Paseo.

A tiny metal building up Fremont Av. N. set back under trees and behind parked cars it’s easy to miss this 12 seat restaurant. Know mostly as a to-go place, if you can find a seat good for you. Fortunately for me I arrived between rushes when there was, aside from staff, no one in the building. So I placed my order and grabbed a seat by the

window. I call it a window when in reality it was a set of French doors which open out onto the sidewalk on warm, sunny days. The temperature being 43 degrees this day, the doors were closed and the heat on. But that was fine; it kind of put me in a tropical mood as I waited for my Pork Sandwich ($6.25) and Media Noche Sandwich ($6.79).

Now here is where I explain why it has taken me nearly a year to return to Paseo. You see, before my first visit, I had heard how their sandwiches had this great Cuban/Caribbean flavor and being from Florida I should check them out. Well, having only just recently relocated from the Sunshine State, I was in the mood for a nice porky tropical sandwich. I had ordered the Pork Sandwich, took a bit and was

incredibly disappointed. What was this? A pork patty, one that was reminiscent of the pork from a McRib ™ sandwich? How were people raving about this? Combine this with waiting in a line out the door and it just never seemed worth going back. But it was by the urging of a couple of people that I went back to try their other pork sandwich, the Media Noche.

So here I am sitting with two sandwiches at my “table for one”. First to taste was the Pork Sandwich. The roll is as I remember it, a nice, golden-brown, slightly chewy crust, and tender crumb interior that has been grilled just slightly. Inside the roll is a good slather of a garlic-y mayonnaise, a couple of leaves of Romaine lettuce, some cilantro, jalapeno peppers, a ton of grilled onions and that pork patty. On closer inspection it appears the patty is a pork cutlet that has been either pounded with a tenderizer or run through a cubing machine. Either way I will admit the texture was very tender, a nice, slightly crunchy grilled exterior slathered in sauce. It is this sauce that I’m having some trouble wrapping my head around. Slightly sweet, slightly spicy it’s not something I’m used to in my Cuban/Caribbean cuisine. I could taste some cayenne, garlic, maybe even some jerk seasoning and what I can only describe as Hoisin sauce. Combine all the ingredients together and you get an interesting flavor combination but one that tends to lean toward the sweet side and less in the “great pork flavor” realm. But this is what I remembered from my first visit.

Now for the Media Noche. While the Media Noche is by no doubt a Cuban sandwich, what arrived at my table was more Cuban inspired. This was basically the same sandwich as the above with the noted exception of shredded pork instead of the pork patty and sans the overly sweet sauce. This was pork in its natural state. Small chunks of slow roasted, tender and falling apart pork shoulder. Nothing to disguise its goodness. Combined with the lettuce, onions, cilantro and onions this proved to be a meatier, yet milder, sandwich than the Pork Sandwich. This was what I was looking for, pork done right.

While I won’t say that someone should pick the Media Noche over the plain Pork, I will say that a lot depends on preference. Do you like a spicy, sweet sauce or do you prefer to have more of the natural, mild pork flavor to come through? Me, I will be returning to Paseo for the Media Noche. One thing is for sure, and is common to both sandwiches, grab napkins. The onions, liberal saucing and ample mayonnaise provide for some slippery contents that will want to escape from your two slices of bread.