Authenticity makes The Cuban Stop worth a try

If you haven’t bought your ticket to Cuba yet, you can get an authentic taste of the island nation down in Warner Robins.

Your dining experience begins with a basket of classic Cuban garlic toast as you wait for your meal to be made fresh. We started with lovely tubular ham croquetas, three for $3.50 and as creamy with cheese on the inside as they were crunchy on the outside. The tamale, at $2.75 each, was served on the corn husk instead of in it, with the sauce on top. The yuca fries for $3.25 are more cubic than stick-shaped, served with a creamy dill vinaigrette.

For our meals, we tried two sandwiches and two plates. Of course, we had the classic Cuban sandwich, with ham, pork, Swiss cheese, pickles and mustard served on toasted Cuban bread. Both it and the grilled chicken sandwich, for $6.49 each, were acceptable but didn’t knock it out of the ballpark.

The chicken fricassee for $11.50 is a very generous plate of white and dark chicken served with potatoes and three other sides of your choice. We tried the fried sweet plantains, the fried green plantains, and yuca with mojo. Our other plate was breaded citrus-marinated filet of tilapia for $12.49. We tried the congris rice and beans along with more plantains for the sides.

By far, our favorite part of the meal was the coffee. We had it con leche (with milk), cortadito (with steamed milk) and colada (with sugar only). All three versions were delicious, under $2.50 and fantastic with the homemade guava and cream cheese pastries. We also had some interesting bowls of candied papaya and something called guava marmalade, which seemed more like a sauce. Both come with cream cheese and are eaten off your spoon.

This nondescript little place filled up while we were there at a very odd-for-eating time of day. Their customers are both new to Cuban cuisine and natives, letting you know that it is both authentic for foodies and palatable for newbies. Come try!

Find reviews for other local eateries

This story was originally published May 26, 2016 at 10:00 PM with the headline "Authenticity makes The Cuban Stop worth a try."