One of my favorite lunch places is Margon, a little Cuban restaurant on 46th St. There are seats in the back and at the counter, but the place is really tiny so we always take our order to go. Josh and I usually get Cuban sandwiches and an order of tostones. The food is really heavy and filling, and I always feel a bit guilty after eating it but their Cuban sandwiches really are the best. They add salami to them, which is not a traditional ingredient (though that has been debated). It adds an extra layer of flavor to the already packed sandwich, which has roasted pork, ham, cheese, pickles, mayo, mustard, and garlic sauce.
Cuban sandwich
My major issue with Margon is that their sandwiches are inconsistent, especially when you go during prime lunch hours. There is often a crowd waiting at the sandwich counter and I think it gets a bit overwhelming. Too often the sandwich is either overly toasted or underdone, as the lone man operating the sandwich press is also the one who has to put all the sandwiches together. When he gets its just right, however, the sandwiches are incredible – crispy, ooey gooey, salty, sweet, garlicky and mustardy. This time though, my sandwiches ended up a bit underdone, as the bread was still too fluffy and didn’t get a chance to crisp up. The fillings were hot though, and the cheese was still nicely melted.
Sandwich innards - the bread isn't as pressed down as it should be
After I picked up my sandwich, I ordered tostones from the woman running the register. I asked for garlic sauce (mojo) on top, and she nodded and went to get the tostones from the steam table side of the restaurant. She returned with a container, sans mojo. As she rang up my order, I again asked for garlic sauce, and she claimed they didn’t have any. Seriously? A Cuban restaurant doesn’t have mojo? Total BS.
Sad and dry tostones
I didn’t know what else to say, and there was a long line of people waiting so I just took my order and left. I don’t know if the woman just forgot about the mojo initially and then was too lazy to go back and get some, or what, but Josh and I get tostones all the time and they always put mojo on top of them for us. Their tostones without mojo are just dry, greasy, and flavorless. I wouldn’t have ordered them if I had known I couldn’t get any garlic sauce.
Luckily Josh’s coworkers leave around bottles of hot sauce at the office, so I played with a few varieties to top off the sadly dry tostones. My favorite was made from tomatillos and roasted garlic, which was nicely tangy but way too spicy for me. Next time I just won’t order the tostones until I confirm that there is mojo sauce available.
Roasted garlic and tomatillo hot sauce couldn't save the bad tostones
One bad tostone experience aside, I really do like Margon and their Cuban sandwiches. The sandwiches are gooey and greasy, but that’s what makes them so delicious. But it also means that they’re only an occasional treat for us, because contrary to popular belief, we do try to watch what we eat most of the time. At $6 each, they do make a really cheap and filling lunch.
Margon
36 West 46th St. between 6th and 7th Ave.
New York, NY
Tags: Cuban, Lunch, Midtown, Sandwiches