It's time for another handful of different sandwiches. Today's feature is on the offerings of the little Latin American / Hispanic sandwich shops found scattered throughout a few Northside neighborhoods. Spots like Logan Square, Ukrainian Village, Humboldt Park, and others in the area are changing but these little shops that supply a reasonably priced lunch for the neighbors mostly remain. There's quite a few of them so this is by no-means a round-up or 'best of' feature. You may even see a second part to this post sometime in the future as there are others I have yet to get to. But in the meantime here's five spots putting out sandwiches with some Latin flare for their regulars.
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Eddie's Sandwiches
Humboldt Park
Eddie's Sandwiches is relatively new as it opened back towards the end of 2014. Like so many other of these neighborhood sandwich shops they're also frequented for coffee. This means early morning hours and at Eddie's they offer a few different sandwiches that are pretty much good at any time of the day. Nothing crazy or out of the ordinary as far as the options but the pricing is in the $5 range and they come served both hot and cold. I got a ham, egg, and cheese and received a made to order sandwich that was made with care. The bread was better than it had to be and I loved how it was well pressed allowing the cheese to melt into the bread. A fine breakfast sandwich at a very fair price.
Ham, Egg and Cheese Sandwich
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Cafeteria Marcela's
Logan Square
I've driven by here many of times but never really thought of stopping in. Then one day when the taste for a steak sandwich came to me I decided to try it as I happened to be passing by. This place feels like it could be down in South Florida with it's menu which features plenty of dishes steaming behind the glass as well as ice cream. The steak sandwich gets lots of love and it starts out as a piece of raw bistec cooked down with onions and then roughly chopped. The cheap white cheese popular to these types of spots gets melted down entirely which is always a big plus as it releases plenty of cheesy, salty flavor. The type of cheese that goes great with chopped steak and onions. Add a bit of mayo and some lettuce and you got a pretty crave-worthy sandwich with plenty of fans.
Grilled Steak Sandwich
________________________________________________________________________________Irazu
Bucktown
Located right around the border of Bucktown and Logan Square is one of the areas most popular restaurants. It's favored for it's open air dining during the summer, for it's BYOB policy, and for it's Costa Rican food which has been featured on Diners, Drive-In' and Dives. One of the most popular menu items is the Costa Rican sandwich which comes served on French bread with thinly sliced steak, cheese, lettuce, tomato, mayo, mustard, Lizano sauce. The sauce is a Costa Rican condiment developed in the 1920's made from spices and vegetables. On the side is a cup of green salsa if you want to kick up the spice content. I find myself here at least once a year and usually over summer.
Costa Rican Steak Sandwich
________________________________________________________________________________Kerely's Cuban Cafe & Pizzeria
Logan Square
The Cuban sandwich is also popular around these parts and thus far this one here is my favorite. Kerely's is a Cuban Fusion spot pushing both Cuban food and also pizza. To the best of my knowledge it's just normal style pizza and not the extremely regional Cuban Pizza local to Miami. I thought they nailed the balance process and the sandwich was also well toasted. The pork was obviously roasted in house and had some good flavor but the ham was a tad bit lacking. The latter also being a common problem in both Tampa and Miami so it's something common all over. All in all hit the spot right then and there. I need to try their ropa vieja sandwich which gets love in reviews.
Cuban Sandwich
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Logan Square
I saved my favorite of these French bread filled sandwiches for last. I'm not the only one who loves Cafeteria Marianao which gets packed on the weekends. The ordering process is a bit hectic as there is no line but for the most part people are very civil about it, you just need to get the guys behind the counters attention and then hope they don't forget about you. But your reward is a sandwich that causes me to binge eat here. Its the thin strips of steak that are swimming in mojo marinade before getting cooked and then paired with crunchy raw onions in a similar marinade. Its pressed on a sandwich press with processed cheese that when fully melts really works with everything else. You can get double steak but I think it throws off the balance. It always hits the spot and leaves me wanting more. Hopefully they're here a long time as the neighborhood changes thru the years.
Steak Sandwich
________________________________________________________________________________Eddie's Sandwiches
2721 W Division St
Chicago, IL 60622
(773) 698-8874
Cafeteria Marcela's
3503 W Fullerton Ave
Chicago, IL 60647
(773) 252-6333
Irazu
1865 N Milwaukee Ave
Chicago, IL 60647
(773) 252-5687
Kerely's Cuban Cafe & Pizzeria
2934 N Milwaukee Ave
Chicago, IL 60618
(773) 394-4040
Cafeteria Marianao
2246 N Milwaukee Ave
Chicago, IL 60647
(773) 278-4533
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