Eat Great Cheap 2015We have a hard time passing up a great Cuban sandwich—especially at this tropically toned Columbia Heights eatery, which presses one of the best in town. Still, you’re losing out if you don’t explore the all-day menu. Get a ham-and-cheese fix with a stuffed empanada, then move on to rib-sticking entrées that somehow don’t feel heavy. If you’ve never tried picadillo—the Cuban classic of minced beef, olives, and raisins simmered in a piquant tomato sauce—this is the place. Ditto for vaca frita (translation: fried cow), a tangle of lime-marinated, crisp meat, and fried onions. Rice and beans, so often plate-fillers, equally deserve the spotlight. Also good: Cuban fried chicken; tomato-and-shrimp stew.
