Midtown Lunch

I had been wanting to check out the food at the Qba Cuban Kitchen Truck, but it seemed like whenever they were down in the Financial District I couldn’t make it over. The stars aligned one day, though, and I headed over to try one of the two remaining menu items that hadn’t already been sampled. They were parked on Wall St. (check the truck’s location on Twitter) and there was a small line when I got there. I was a little worried because it didn’t seem to be moving too swiftly, but I actually didn’t have to wait too long to place my order with the super-friendly woman at the window. 

I wanted either the chicken or steak (bistec) meal, since the lechon meal and Cubano sandwich had already been tried. They didn’t have bistec the day I went, so the decision was made for me. Pollo it was! I went with the guava habanero BBQ sauce, which comes in little containers on the side.

My name was called after a short wait and I walked across the street for a little outdoor dining. It was encouraging that several people were staring in envy at my food as they passed by. It’s about the only Cuban food option downtown other than the two locations of Sophie’s Cuban and a couple of places like the Roxy Coffee Shop that serve roast pork with rice and beans as a special.

A couple of things that have already been said are true about the food: this is not a huge bulging container of food, but a small container that will guarantee you don’t eat yourself into a lunch food coma unless you’re a light eater. It’s also $7, which some may say is too much for less food than you get at a standard street meat cart.

I tried the chicken first, and it was really good thanks to whatever it was marinated in and the nice browning on the outside. It tasted like garlic and didn’t even need the BBQ sauce, but I dumped some on anyway. It was sweet but also had a little kick to it. The chicken could have been hotter, as it was basically room temperature, but it was still good. I also really liked the rice and black beans.

The bottom line is this is tasty food, but if you’re absolutely starving it might be best to seek out a heartier lunch if you don’t want to be hungry again in two or three hours.

Qba Cuban Kitchen Truck, Multiple Locations, (973) 687-2000