A’ Lo Cubano

Don’t let their website of stock photos fool you… Picture a cuban sandwich in your head… It’s a delicious sandwich filled with slow roasted pork, good quality ham, pickles, mustard and swiss cheese, then pressed thin on Cuban bread and grilled until the cheese is nicely melted and the bread slightly crisp on the outside and still soft inside…
Even if you get half of that wrong, the absolute key is that it’s hot and pressed! Now take a look at what A’ Lo Cubano allows to pass as their «authentic» cuban (photo titled «authentic cuban.»)… Not only was the bread not grilled or pressed in any way, but it was really thick and stale. The ham was deli ham, full of preservatives, and cold… like the kind used in pre-​made gas station sandwiches… Really thickly sliced and spongy… The cheese was cold as ice, not even close to being melted. The pork was the only part that was pretty decent… it was hot, nicely seasoned, and cooked perfectly.
And don’t even bother with the rice and beans for the extra $ 2 or $ 3 bucks… steamed rice straight from the rice cooker, sticky and wet, and black beans that look and taste like they were scooped directly from the can. Neither had any seasoning and were served cold.
Overall, there are much better options available if you have extra $ 10 to spend on lunch. Until they fix their recipe, you’re better off getting the chicken cuban special at Brown Bag around the corner in Rosslyn.

Tried the traditional Cuban sandwich; not the worst Cuban I have had but certainly not the best. I will say the pulled pork as opposed to slices was unexpected but worked, the bread is way too thick considering the small amount of meat provided. I deconstructed my sandwich and basically put everything into one half of the sandwich and pitched the other half of the bread.
Felt I needed to try the black beans and rice to really see how authentic this Cuban food was and they were terrible. The rice was sticky and dry, had no flavor at all. The black beans lacked flavor as well but it was apparent they used basil as I found multiple basil leaves. Sadly, the beans and rice were thrown out.
I am glad I tried A’Lo Cubano but I won’t be returning as there are much better Cuban sandwiches elsewhere.

The line was really long so I thought «this must be something worth waiting for» NOT! The line was only long because they kept getting their orders mixed up! I had chicken and pork tacos and all I could taste were the capers in the chicken and mustard in the pork, which was pretty dry. The avocado sauce they boasted about was virtually non-​existent and they didn’t add the onions or cilantro they said came with the tacos. The rice and beans were about 2 days old! The beans were so crunchy and dried out and the rice was a combination of mush and crunch. Just awful, I’m never going back!

I ordered the DC style Cubinator and it was very disappointing for an $ 8 sandwich (and a food truck’s «feature» item).
Bread was terrible – with a stale or overly toasted crust. I expected a little more substance from the fillings too. When I first saw they had pineapple and avocado on the menu, I was thrilled. Came to find that they’re both pureed sauces – not actual fruits, chutneys, or salsas like I expected.
The staff also seemed like they were getting confused with the orders coming in, a couple of my friends had to say the wrong drink was in the bag, or they didn’t get their sides. My sandwich was missing the mojo sauce (the only differentiator between the standard and DC) – either that or their spicy sauce is so unimpressive it could not be detected.
Friends of mine also got the side of beans and rice and both said it was bad and completely without seasoning.

I like a good Cuban sandwich. This is a good Cuban sandwich. It is a little different from other Cuban sandwiches that I have had, but since I have never been to Cuba I really don’t know what is authentic. The truck is a little sketchy and the menu board more or less said you could get a regular or a spicy sandwich, which was unexpected because I previewed their menu online and they have a lot of other things listed. I’m confused, but happy with lunch. My friend Brian didn’t like it so much though so maybe it’s just me.