Kat's 9 Lives

After a long arduous red-eye flight from LA to Miami, Ms. Lin and I were looking for what we could do to kill time. We had a horrible time dealing with Hertz and their incompetent staff. Believe me, we needed something to wash that nasty taste from our mouths. After an endless search for what was open at 6-7am in the morning, we were able to find Enriqueta's Cafe.
Sure, it might be super early but we definitely needed a caffeine spike. A whole night without sleep because of other inconsiderate airplane passengers plus idiotic service at Hertz, I needed a few gigantic cups of coffee! If you have never had a Cuban coffee, it's really time that you hunt down a tasty Cuban cafe to get a few helpings of it. I loved how they were cranking the machine like crazy and then scooping a ton of sugar into a tiny cup of coffee. Welcome to the world of diabetes and flavor!
Still, there's a reason why they sell tons of this coffee and for the price it is not bad. I wish we had bought a few cups and asked for light sugar. In my memory, Cafe Versailles had such tasty Cuban coffee that I didn't want to order too much here but times have changed. I am not sure if it was an off day or something but I thought the coffee at Enriqueta's Cafe was a million times better. The one at Cafe Versailles was like muddy water. It was quite sad actually. Hence, I wished I bought more coffee here and not save my tastebuds for Cafe Versailles later.
I asked what they recommended and they said to order the Bistecca (Steak) Sandwich. This was about $8 and I was skeptical, but it turned out to be super tasty! They stuff the sandwich full of thin crisp fries that are so crunchy and wonderful with every savory bite. The meat was very aromatic mixed in with fresh tomatoes and onions. Everything just came together heavenly. If I wasn't planning to stuff myself later, I would have gotten another one of these! It took a while for them to crank out this sandwich but it was worth the wait! The number one sandwich I was looking forward to was a Cubano (Cuban) Sandwich, but the steak was the clear winner that morning!
Somehow there was a miscommunication because they thought that we ordered the simple bread with butter. I don't think we really ate it but everyone else was getting it and somehow they messed up with our order. It would be smart to double check your order so that you won't run into the issue we did. The bread was only $1.50 or so but we weren't going to eat it. Ms. Lin had to go back and re-order the Cuban sandwich.
Maybe it was because the steak sandwich was toooo good that it made the Cuban sandwich seem less impressive. They packed it full of meat and pickles. It was nicely toasted and flavorful but I think that morning I was really feeling the solid savory flavor rather than a mix of salty and sour. Again, I might have been judging them to the memory of the Cuban sandwich I had at Cafe Versailles a year or so ago. Yet AGAIN, when I went back to Cafe Versailles I was dramatically let down. The Cuban sandwich here was much better and it was piping hot versus the lukewarm slop I got at Cafe Versailles.
All in all I thought the food here was tasty, reasonably priced, and they were open when the sky was still dark! Many thumbs up! Next time I am in town and have a car again, I will definitely come back again for another go. Hopefully it will be just as good!
While we were waiting for everything to be made, the air was filled with the scent of the ocean. I told Ms. Lin that she was going the wrong way but she did not believe me. After a little detour on our way to Cafe Versailles, we reached a dead end where we could see the sunrise glisten on the water under the bridge. Of course I had to take some photos to celebrate this momentous occasion... us going the wrong way! lol
Ms. Lin of course used the excuse that she did this on purpose for us to enjoy the view... BS! lol =) Still, it makes a great story at least.

Enriqueta's Cafe (Sandwich Shop)
186 NE 29th St
Miami, FL 33137
(305) 573-4681