Cuban sandwich

Tasty Tuesday–Sugarfire 64: The Cuban Reuben

My love of Beast Craft BBQ is well-documented, and I never thought I’d have a need for any other BBQ, but ever since Sugarfire Smoke House opened a location in the Metro East, Sugarfire 64, I knew I would have to try it out eventually. Sunday was that day.

Why Sunday, you may wonder? Well, Sugarfire recently took first place at the 2018 Sandwich World Championship. And on Sunday, they offered the World’s Best Sandwich, the Cuban Reuben, at the O’Fallon location. Not only did I want to try out the best sandwich in the world, I’m a sucker for a reuben, so it was the perfect opportunity.

The sandwich had three types of meat…pit ham, pastrami, and pulled pork…all were delicious. That was topped with Swiss cheese, horseradish mustard, and pickles. And if all that wasn’t enough, the “bun” was actually two grilled cheese sandwiches, which had both provolone and white American cheese and sourdough bread. I added some of Sugarfire’s white BBQ sauce, too.

When they say “World’s Best Sandwich,” they’re not exaggerating, at least not by much. It was the perfect combination of ingredients for lovers of both Cuban sandwiches and Reubens. The BBQ sauce was good, too (Ryan thinks Beast’s is still the best, and I tend to agree, although I’m not a connoisseur of BBQ sauce like he is), and the portions were beyond generous….splitting it was definitely not a problem! I also tried the brisket au gratin potatoes for my side, and if that isn’t comfort food right there, I don’t know what is.

Beast will always be my first BBQ love, but I wouldn’t mind going back to Sugarfire 64 and trying some of their other offerings, because their food is excellent!

Tasty Tuesday–Righteous Pig BBQ: The Cuban

I’m taking a break from talking about the amazing food at Beast Craft BBQ to talk about another Belleville BBQ location: Righteous Pig.

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Ryan and I recently tried their Cuban sandwich (pork belly pastrami, pulled pork, mustard, BBQ sauce, and pickles).

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The pastrami was amazing…sliced super thin (I was actually shocked by how thin…I was expecting chunks of meat, so this was a very pleasant surprise), and almost prosciutto-like. We both loved it. The pulled pork, however, was dry. Maybe it was just because we ordered near the end of the day, but it was not nearly as remarkable as the pastrami was, and not what we were expecting. The bun was good–an onion roll, it appeared. It did start to fall apart before the sandwich was gone, but the taste was good. The mustard and pickles on the sandwich both added to the flavor, and the BBQ sauce was good…I thought it had a bit of a kick, but Ryan found it to be pretty tame. Go figure.

We also tried the pit beans and the potato salad. Both were good. Ryan really liked the beans, and while he’s not much of a non-mustard potato salad person, he liked that, too. I thought the potato salad was excellent, and I could admit the beans were good, even though I’m not a huge baked beans fan.

Righteous Pig certainly won’t replace my favorite BBQ place, Beast, but it’s worth a try, for the pastrami alone, especially if you’re spending the day in downtown Belleville!