Where: 1467 Main Street, Rahway, New Jersey

What: Cuban

Rating: 2/5

I’ll come right out and say it: this was a disappointing trip not worth the effort nor the time it wasted.  Walking in, we were confronted with a small short entry, two different areas on each side. One was the bar with a Mets game playing while a handful of men drank and ate. The other was the “restaurant” side, completely devoid of people at peak lunch hour aside from a group of loud middle-aged men marveling at the wonders of their children’s abilities to use modern technology in any capacity.

After being seated and given menus, we ended up ordering an appetizer and an entree each. Usually I try to order a drink as well, but no drinks were marked on the menu and the table next to us had a triangular menu of alcoholic drinks only. I wasn’t very interested in drinking at one in the afternoon on a weekday, so water would have to do.

Unfortunately, even the water tasted off. New Jersey is somewhat infamous for its water quality and taste, so this can’t necessarily be pinned on the restaurant completely. The decor was nice enough, a few photographs on the walls, plain wooden tables, different walls colored in red, yellow, and partial wood respectively. My mother commented that it was likely a place more popular for dinner, hence the emptiness of the room, but it was still disquieting.

For the appetizer, I ordered the empanadas, one spinach and goat cheese, the other chicken.

Nothing special. The cream was good, as cream is, and the spinach and goat cheese one was my favored of the pair. The chicken one would taste as one might expect, and although I did prefer it, the spinach and goat cheese one was mostly a mass of spinach with a little bit of cheese. More healthy, I suppose, but a fried dish is already unhealthy as is. My favorite part of the meal.

To be honest, you could probably find a cheaper better empanada at a local place. These were $6 together.

Next came the entrees, of which I had some of both, as always.

My own order was the Pollo ala Plancha, described as, “Grilled Chicken Breast topped with caramelized onions & finished with a Mojo glaze accompanied with Arroz Blanco & Frijoles Negro” a la their website. Honestly speaking, there isn’t too much to say about the dish. The taste was fine enough, not delicious but not disgusting, it reminded me of when your mother makes a meal and you eat it without thinking much on it because you know she’s isn’t the best cook, but then again it’s not a disaster this time now is it?

The rice was rice, not much to say. Going to Costanera last time heightened my expectations for black beans, a new level these ones did not meet. I ended up finding a small piece of bone in the beans as well, which was a bit unexpected but not meal-ruining. I’m familiar with meals that require you to avoid pieces or de-boning, and I’m not Hispanic or too knowledgeable on these specific types of food, so it could just be something I should have expected.

To be honest, if I went back, I would just order the taquitos.

My mother ordered the Lechon Asado, slow roasted marinated pork, a dish she said she enjoyed the flavor of. I tried a bit, happened to pick a piece that was 90% fat, and that was that. I did end up eating a bit of the leftovers a few days later and was once again neither too impressed nor too disappointed. It tastes as you might expect, though I will say I think I personally enjoyed my own meal more, but it should be noted I’m not too big on pork in the first place.

Unfortunately for you, my lovely readers, my attempt at ordering the customary when available rice pudding was foiled by the lack of any in stock. This surprised me, as the restaurant had opened not too long after we had arrived and had been almost empty. Who exactly had eaten all of the rice pudding? Why? Why rob me of one of my few joys in life?

Although prices were alright enough, service was surprisingly a bit slower than you would expect, with the men leaving, we were the only people in there and it still took a bit of a while to get our check. My mother noted it was lucky I had put one more quarter in the meter than she had suggested, otherwise we would have run overtime having waited to ask for it.

With disappointment and a rice pudding-less stomach, our journey ended.

While I was disappointed, the food was not inedible, and the spinach and goat cheese empanda was good, so I’m going to give this one a 1.5-2/5. I can’t say I would recommend going here, though I don’t know if it’s somehow better in the evening, certainly not for lunch.