At Sabor a Cuba, a simple Cuban restaurant in Ravenswood, making the Famoso Sandwich Cubano is a precise art. Garlicky roast pork, ham, dill pickles and Swiss cheese are piled atop Cuban buttered bread while cold. The sandwich is then grilled in a sandwich press, called a plancha, until the bread is crisp, the cheese melted and the meats warm and savory. The usual standbys of lettuce, tomato and mayonnaise are eschewed in favor of yellow mustard, all for a chintzy $4.50.

Sabor a Cuba has a menu that extends far beyond sandwiches, however, and each waiter is happy to provide a different favorite (though the seafood stew was recommended more than once). Appetizers are cheap and plentiful, from the sweet fried plantains to yucca mashed and stuffed with ground beef, with the bulk of the menu split pretty evenly between inexpensive sandwiches and pricier entrees. The lobster with Creole sauce ($16.95) looked particularly tempting, while those dining as a pair can order the seafood paella ($45) if they call ahead and don't mind waiting.

Occupying a corner spot, the window-lined restaurant is sunny and cheery, made more so by the two-toned pink walls and Cuban artwork. The outside patio is one of the most inviting we've seen, crowded with small pink and purple flowers and a center tree, its trunk wrapped in lights. Dark wood furniture, plenty of fresh flowers, and pink tablecloths and candles on each table add to the intimate, low-key ambience (try not to hold the restaurant's plastic pink flamingos against it). BYOB.

Average cost: $10-$20

Centerstage Reviewer: Kate Rockwood