A Pig is a Pig: Cuba Cuba Sandwicheria of Boulder

A few weeks ago my family and I were passing through the homey hamlet of Boulder, CO, when from the back of our car came the all too familiar sound of hungry toddlers, who instead of saying, "I want to comer," like any normal Spanglish-raised kids would, simply say, "um," as in a shortened version of "yum."

Um. Um. Um. Um. Um.

It started somewhere north of town, which gave us enough time to come up with a plan. The "umming" reached a feverish pitch when we hit city limits and just as the crying kicked in, we pulled up to Cuba Cuba's self proclaimed "sandwicheria". We jettisoned through the bright entryway and headed straight for the counter, where before ordering I reflected a minute on how much I like the word "sandwicheria", and added it to my mental list of great restaurant names. 

I got a Cuban of course, one of my favorite meat-bread combos. This version was pretty standard, which was good to see as there is really no use in trying to fancy up a sandwich like this. As the saying goes, it would be a little like trying to put lipstick on a pig-- because as everyone knows, pigs, and their natural evolution into sandwiches, taste just fine without lipstick.

My wife ordered a lechón and we both preferred this pulled pig pressed panini over the original Cuban for its rich flavor and generous size.

Meanwhile my twin toddlers tore through a kid's Cuban, an order of rice and beans (that were not called Moros y Cristianos) and a plate of delightful fried plantain.

This being my second or third post on Boulder, I have very few sarcastic, biting comments left to hurl upon our neighbor to the north who continue to annoyingly excel in just about everything (besides diversity). The latest accolade that they can smugly tout (or at least whisper politely behind our backs) is being Colorado's best bike city. I hope the person responsible for that list out didn't spend too much time crunching numbers to decide Boulder was tops. Calling Boulder the best bike city is a little like calling pigs the best food in the animal food kingdom-- it is just stating the plainly obvious. 

Cuba Cuba Sandwicheria is a worthwhile stop in the vast culinary landscape that is Boulder. Whether you are just passing through, re-fueling after a day of some extreme sporting activity or other, or just stoned out of your mind (as were the two young men sitting across from us that day), this sandwicheria and its simple Cuban fare should hit the spot.