Monday, May 23, 2011

A Little Piece of Havana In Times Square


Margon Restaurant 
136 West 46th Street
New York, NY 10036

I was pretty excited to hear that there was a Cuban restaurant across from our hotel in New York. I have been on a real Cuban sandwich kick lately. The reviews for Margon had all been pretty positive also. Most on-line posts remarked that it was good food, for an even better price. Some have even called it the best food in Times Square. So with all this glowing praise, I could not be any happier to try it.

Margon is a very narrow, counter-style restaurant. Our first of two trips here was during the lunch rush, and organized chaos would be the way to describe what was going on here. The locals all had the system down, like ordering the Cuban sandwiches at the front part of the counter and ordering all other items at the back counter. I could tell my parents were a little sheepish about this place, so I told them I would order the sandwiches and bring them back across the street to our hotel. They seemed cool with that, and after about a five-minute wait we were tearing into our sandwiches. 



The Cuban sandwich here is a little different from what I am used to. At Margon the pressed sandwich comes with roasted pork, ham, salami, mayonnaise, mustard, pickles, and cheese. The other Cuban sandwiches I have had contained all the same items, but no mayo or salami. The additional items did not make this sandwich worse, just a little different. I really liked the flavor of this sandwich. It was not the best Cuban sandwich I have had, but it was way better than most. Also, the $6 I paid for this sandwich really filled me up until dinner, so it was definitely a bargain.



Our second trip to Margon was for breakfast. The breakfast crowd at Margon is a little more subdued, and we had no trouble finding a table. My parents both got the omelet's above. My Mom went with the Cheese Omelette served with home fries. My Dad settled on the Ham and Cheese Omelette. Both egg dishes came with their choice of American or Swiss cheese, not my favorite kinds of cheese to come on an omelet. Both of my parents thought the omelet was okay, nothing special about them, except that they cost under $5, one of the cheapest items we had on this whole trip.



I went a different way for breakfast when I ordered the Media Noche Sandwich. This midnight sandwich was served on potato bread with ham, cheese, pickles, and mustard. I liked this sandwich better than the Cuban sandwich. The bread was softer, and the ham had a nice grill to it. The price you ask? How does $4 sound? Cheaper than even Subway's five-dollar foot long, and much better.

I was very happy about eating at Margon. If we had been here longer I would have for sure had some of their more exotic-sounding specials. The oxtail, lamb breast, and octopus salad all intrigued me, but those will have to wait for our next trip to the Big Apple. Also, next time I will try to avoid the lunchtime rush in this tiny restaurant.

Out of five yank tanks, (referring to big American cars of the '50s and 60's still in use in Cuba), five being best to zero being worst, Margon restaurant gets 2.5 yank tanks.  

For more information about Margon Restaurant, head to their website here: https://margon.has.restaurant/

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