The Torta Cubana At Cafe Bajo La Luna Is The Ultimate Hangover Cure – Food Stuffs

Food Stuffs is a column exploring the gastronomic landscape of Bensonhurst and the surrounding neighborhoods. Each entry will cover anything and everything remotely related to food. Because here in Bensonhurst, food is always news.

A torta Cubana is NOT a Cuban sandwich (or torta Cubano).

I learned this the hard way. Thinking I was ordering a slim, crusty sandwich of ham, cheese, with a schmear of mustard and pickles for breakfast at Cafe Bajo La Luna on Kings Highway, I instead received a terrifying Aztec tower of breakfast ingredients that I was in no shape to tackle so bright and early on a Saturday morning.

The distinction between these foods, notes this Medium article, lies in the Cubano‘s hyper-masculine “O,” as opposed to the feminine torta Cubana, with her dainty “A” suffix.

But even this tidbit of Latin grammar is misleading. The double-decker monstrosity I ordered — the Cubana — is hefty enough to feed a small country. She is also something of a hangover fix, as she includes literally every food group, with meats, bread, veggies, fruits, legumes, dairy products, and eggs.

Let’s talk specifics. First there is the sliced ham, the bacon, the breaded beef, the fried eggs, and Mexican cheeses — two generous layers of each, but still familiar enough to evoke your classic bodega bacon, egg, and cheese. Then comes the surprising crunch of pickled peppers, fresh tomatoes, and in perhaps the most interesting twist, tangy pineapple slices. Sinking to the bottom of this pile of seemingly random foods are mashed black beans, which somehow anchor the whole meal and lend it a distinctly Central American flavor.

The biggest challenge of eating this beast is figuring out how to hold it all together while trying to get it in your mouth. Frankly, it’s a mess. Peppers and pineapples fell everywhere but my plate as I attempted to savor all the competing flavors at once (though, admittedly, I was coming off a late night and my fine motor skills were running slower than usual). The sandwich probably could have probably benefited by being pierced down the middle with a single toothpick to keep the moving parts in place.

Ambiance-wise, Cafe Bajo La Luna (261 Kings Highway) looks like your typical hole-in-the-wall Mexican diner. Red, white, and green Mexican flag posters and decorations line the walls and plastic-wrapped piñatas dangle from the ceiling. The waitstaff are friendly and helpful and they seemed unfazed by my graceless eating habits.

Sure, the torta Cubana may not have been what I expected, but it was a pleasant surprise that really hit the spot on a groggy, hungover Saturday morning.

Visit Cafe Bajo La Luna at 261 Kings Highway or call (347) 492-5980.