Puerto Rican Cafe, Lexington Park, St. Mary’s County, Maryland

I sent up a flair to Eric Zabiegalski — you know Eric — about getting together for breakfast or lunch one Saturday. Eric liked the idea, and after we’d chatted a bit about possibilities, he consulted Paul of St. Mary’s who recommended the Puerto Rican Cafe.

I’d noticed their food truck in passing, and I was eager to try it now that they had a brick and mortar location. My son-in-law Michael joined us and off we went.

The Puerto Rican Cafe is located at 21600 Great Mills Road in the St. Mary’s Square shopping center, just a couple of blocks from Uncle D’s, which I like. It’s a small but not at all cramped space with a counter at one end at which you order and, after you finish eating, pay. There are some pleasant Puerto Rican decorative touches, and occasional Salsa dancing lessons.

We looked at the menu briefly and Eric and I decided to get the Cuban sandwich, while Michael chose the Tripleta. I suggested adding a couple of empanadas, beef and chicken, and we did.

The order went back to the kitchen and meanwhile we sat and swapped stories. Before we left we included a nuclear submarine veteran who’d overheard our conversation about the first nuclear carrier, the Lexington (one of several), which was powered by eight nuclear reactors for the big submarines — two are plenty now with bigger ships. That baby could move! An earlier Lexington provided electrical power for Tacoma, Washington, during a city-wide power outage, sort of like you can power for your home with an electric F-150.

First out came the empanadas, both of which we split three ways. Indeed, I started splitting and the eating began before I thought to photograph them. Eventually I snapped this.

The chicken empanada had a  pollo guisado-like filling, while the beef empanada was picadillo-like.

Both contained a thin crust, as you can see, and an ample meat filling, and the meat to crust ratio in both was far higher than you normally get — I can’t recall finding a better ratio, and both the beef and chicken fillings were full of moist, flavorful meat. These were terrific.

Here’s a side view of my Cuban sandwich.

The meats inside were delicious. The ham was a very minor element, almost perfunctory, but the pork … oh, the pork! It was so rich and so well seasoned, not with sour orange juice as with Sacco’s in DC, but with garlic and other seasonings, and it was cooked expertly. I know pork, and this was great pork. The bread was better quality than I expected, frankly, bread not being one of the strong points of the area. It had a good crust and flavor and it managed to hold up well under the strain of all that meat – oh, and the cheese. The bread was dressed with both mustard and mayonnaise, both applied in moderation, and the pickle was a good long slice per half. This was a wonderful sandwich, and it was huge. Two people could split it and leave full. Indeed, Eric saved half of his.

I didn’t save half of mine because Michael and I shared sandwich halves, and you’re not going to stop mdway through a half of a sandwich as good as either of these. Michael’s Tripleta was a combination of ham, pork, and steak — and cheese? — on the same roll as the Cuban. The sandwich was lightly dressed with mayonnaise and ketchup, of all things, but neither added nor interfered with the flavor. Michael’s Tripleta was, if anything, even meatier than the Cuban.

Delicious. Absolutely delicious. Neither Michail nor I could figure out what cut of beef was used or how it was cooked, but we both liked it. The steak was as tender as the pork or, say, a good brisket. The pork was the same heavenly pork on the Cuban. It was easy to differentiate the flavor of the beef from the pork, but hard to articulate how they differed. It all went together beautifully, though, and both Michael and I charged through our respective second half-sandwiches with gusto. The sandwiches came with plantain chips. I’m not usually a great fan, but I did enjoy these. — they were light, crisp, and delicately salted.

What a meal! The staff there’s friendly and accommodating. We had a minor wait for food as the boss was out of town, but the service overall was great. Think of that — short staffed and still upbeat!

These are good people, starting a new business that’s a wonderful addition to the local dining scene. It’s great that St. Mary’s County offers spaces that offer a real, practical opportunity for new businesses to get their feet on the ground. Think of the spot that was Yummie’s springboard and then Tacos Hernandez’s. A lot of the new businesses need some help in aspects of business — I note that the Puerto Rican Cafe doesn’t have a Facebook page or much of an online presence at all — and I hope that the folks who helped Tacos Hernandez will reach out to the good folks at the cafe. They could even ask for donations.

Meanwhile, hurry on over to the Puerto Rican Cafe and have a sandwich — or split a sandwich and maybe share an empanada or three and … . You’ll love it.

***

And while you’re at it, click “follow” on our front page to receive blog posts in your email box. Or bookmark us and check in from time to time. We’re on Instagram (johntannerbbq) and Twitter (johntannerbbq1) pages,and if you’re planning a trip, you can “Search” the name of the destination city, state, or country for good restaurants (in Europe, often close to sites, like the Louvre, Prague Castle, Vienna’s Old City, or the Van Gogh Museum, that you’ll want to visit in any event.  We welcome comments and questions, and eagerly seek suggestions of places to eat and stories to cover.