4.5 out of 5.0 stars
Since moving to Tampa, we’ve tried every type of food the Tampa Bay Area and Florida is known for. Key Lime Pie, Grouper sandwich, and the most famous, the Cuban Sandwich. What has become my go to lunch place, has an amazing Cuban Sandwich, but also an equally amazing twist on a classic New York sandwich.
Owners Marcos & Onelia Silverio started Box of Cubans in a gas station. Success there fueled a move to their current location in Riverview. They specialize in gourmet sandwiches, rice bowls, empanadas & Cuban coffee. They might have the best Cuban Sandwich in the Tampa Bay area, but I’ve fallen in love with their version of the Chopped Cheese. What is a chopped cheese? Simply put, it’s a burger, with the patties chopped up and it’s put on a hoagie bun instead of a hamburger bun.
Their version goes like this. A couple of angus beef patties with house seasoning, grilled and flipped and then chopped up. Diced onions are sautéed and then combined with the chopped beef. American cheese gets melted on top and then all that goodness is placed on Cuban bread with fresh tomato slices and leaf lettuce. They throw a house made mayo-ketchup sauce in the mix.
What makes this chopped cheese so good? The beef is seasoned beautifully, its juicy and you’ll gets some nice big chunks of beef. The cheese melts into the beef and the sautéed onions and becomes one with it. Their house mayo-ketchup sauce is delicious. The kicker is the Cuban bread. It’s from La Segunda Bakery, which is considered by many as the best Cuban bread in Tampa. It’s soft on the inside, and the way the press it, gives it the perfect crunch on the outside. I’ve never had better Cuban bread. I’ve had this wonderful sandwich many, many times. It’s been consistently fantastic.
There is plenty of beef on this chopped cheese, but I did add extra beef, cheese & onions once, and it was more than a meal. Is this a burger? If this was put on a hamburger bun, it could be considered a burger. I’ll let you make the call.
