90 Miles Cuban Cafe...Why Haven't You Been Here Yet?!

I was invited by a friend of mine to have a late Sunday lunch at a little Cuban cafe located in Bucktown. I had heard wonderful things about 90 Miles Cuban Cafe and knew I couldn't miss out on a meal there. One of the things I heard was there is usually a bit of a wait for a table. Luckil,y we arrived around 3pm and were seated on the front outdoor patio right away. 

Outdoor patio

90 Miles is a BYOB cafe, so we brought a bottle of rum to mix with some of the restaurant's drinks. As we got settled, we ordered a pitcher of Passion Iced Tea which was a mix of raspberry iced tea with fresh strawberries, passion fruit puree and sugar. This paired nicely with the rum and was extra refreshing with the addition of mint and lime, which we requested. I also loved the cute little cups we enjoyed our drinks from.

Passion Iced Tea

We started out with the Mariquitas, fried thinly-sliced plantain chips. The lighter-than-air chips were not greasy at all and came with a garlic sauce for drizzling. It was definitely easy to eat an entire basket of these delicious chips!

Mariquitas, sliced plantain chips with garlic sauce

For a second appetizer we had the Empanadas. Each order comes with a choice of three of either, guava & cheese, beef, chorizo, ropa vieja, goat cheese, veggie, or soy. Talk about options! I don't think I've ever seen so many empanada variations on a menu before, let alone empanadas on a Cuban menu. I didn't try them myself, but I can only assume these little pastry pockets were amazing.

Empanadas

Our awesome waiter, Felipe, (fun fact: he is the only Brazilian server at 90 Miles), kindly guided us through the menu, offering suggestions and pointing out his favorite dishes. He put up with me asking a million questions about the menu but it paid off since we got to try so many delicious items off the menu.

Most of us opted for Cuban sandwiches for our meal. The first was the Lechon which featured roasted pork, romaine lettuce, tomato & sweet plantains on Cuban bread.

Lechon Sandwich

The second sandwich was the Pollo, featuring grilled chicken, romaine lettuce, tomato & grilled onions. Notice the massive portion sizes!

Pollo Sandwich

I went with the Ropa Vieja sandwich because I had always seen it on Cuban menus, but was curious about how it tasted. The common Cuban sandwich included shredded beef, peppers & onions slow cooked in Creole sauce. I loved the combination of the tender beef combined with the flaky and crispy bread.

Ropa Vieja Sandwich

During lunch, all sandwiches come with a garnish of plantain chips but since I'm so in love with sweet plantains, I just had to get a side of the fried fruit.
 

Maduros, fried sweet plantains

The last of our group's entrees was one that came highly recommended by our waiter. The Puerco Rostizado featured roasted pig with guava and grilled onions and was served with black beans, white rice, and fried sweet plantains. I sampled some of the delicious pork and you could instantly tell there was a lot of time and love that went into the dish. It's no wonder our waiter said he would eat it everyday!
 

Puerco Rostizado

Since we had an entire bottle of Bacardi to finish, and we were enjoying our afternoon on the lovely outdoor patio, we tried a pitcher of mojitos to mix with our rum. The mojitos were not too sweet and were just the refreshing drink we needed on a hot Sunday afternoon.

Pitcher of mojitos

90 Miles Cuban Cafe is the type of place you go when you want to feel like family. I'm not sure if it's the intimate setting of the restaurant and its patio, or the friendly staff, but we felt as if we were dining with old friends in a tiny Cuban town. I honestly can't remember the last time I had such an enjoyable meal from start to finish; I'm already planning on returning for my birthday next month! 

90 Miles Cuban Cafe gets a whopping 5 stars for its flavorful and colorful Cuban food, terrific atmosphere and the friendliest servers and staff you will ever encounter. Why haven't you been here yet?!


90 Miles Cuban Cafe
www.90MilesCubanCafe.com
2540 W. Armitage
Chicago, IL 60647
(773) 227 2822
Reservations via OpenTable.com