Cuban Sandwiches Since 1962! Puerto Sagua Restaurant Miami

When a restaurant is recommended by random folks you meet at a bar, and by overhearing it being the best place to get a Cuban sandwich by a gift shop owner AND you walk by and it's got shiny chrome spinning stools around a countertop, you know you need to eat at the Puerto Sagua Restaurant in Miami Beach.

Open in 1962, the original owners had ties to the restaurant of the same name in Havana Cuba, our waiter informed us. However, today the restaurant stands on its own, for standard diner fare, but also as a place to get Cuban cuisine.

Our friends from the previous night said they loved the paella served here, but it takes at least 45 minutes to prepare and we did not have the time (they usually call ahead to order it, then arrive at the restaurant shortly before it is done- clever!) There are also plenty of standard American fare menu items, but when there's something different to order, like Cuban Food, that's the way we roll!

Retro Roadhusband was overjoyed to finally get a Cuban sandwich, which actually originated in Florida, and not in Cuba as some think. A Cuban sandwich is a take on the ham and cheese sandwich, made on cuban bread, with mustard, pickles, swiss cheese, and then pressed on a plancha (think a panini press without the lines.) The sandwich is cut diagonally and voila! Yum.

Oh, and in case you ask for a "side order" of fries, note the quantity of fries on the platter above, and plan your eating accordingly.

Mod Betty on the other hand is always a sucker for food wrapped in pastry - Empanadas for the win! One chicken, one ground beef, some black bean soup, and lunch is served.

While waiting for our lunch to be served Mod B spied an interesting piece of art along the back wall of the clean but otherwise unremarkable dining room.

Upon closer inspection she was thrilled to see it was a three-dimensional folk art mural depicting  a Havana Street Scene with the original Puerto Sagua restaurant location. Painted in 1979 by Haydee Scull, she had a twin sister who was also an artist, they would often dress alike.
You can see the 2 sisters in the lower right of this photo:

The detail is amazing! However I'm not sure if the woman next to the Scull Sisters was supposed to be Rodney Dangerfield's doppleganger ;-)

From the new stucco exterior of the restaurant we might not have known that it contained so many delightful elements, but with all that is changing in  Miami Beach, it's nice to find a place that has been around for a while!