Lee, I've never been a big fan of Cuban food. It's not bad - it's just not my favorite. To my taste, the flavors seems 'muddy'. Although I like cumin in chili, the dominance of cumin and achiote (annato) in Cuban food I think is what causes the muddiness. Bell pepper is usually the pepper of choice, which doesn't have much heat. I much prefer the hotter peppers used in the other islands. In Mexico and Asia, they usually add lime to brighten the flavors, and in Europe they frequently add lemon for the same reason. Mexico and the southern Caribbean often add cilantro to perk up a dish. But in Cuba, those balancing ingredients are usually absent. You rarely find any sweetness to balance a dish either, like you do with the fruits and coconuts of the other island cuisines. I guess I just find it rather one dimensional.
They use a lot of root vegetables, but not the ones we are used to. They tend to be very starchy and bland. Like the tostones, I am hard pressed to attribute a flavor to them. They are just a little fried thing on the plate.
And pretty much everything seems overcooked. Keltin's comments about cooking the chicken breast to death rings true.
Maybe it's an acquired taste, but I've eaten in enough Cuban restaurants that I should have acquired it by now!
But I charge on........tomorrow is arroz con pollo, the Cuban interpretation of paella. It doesn't have the chorizo or seafood that I so love in a Spanish paella. We'll see how it works with just the chicken, rice, sofrito & achiote.
I asked why they changed it and added chicken, and they said they always put chicken on it but now they added that to the menu name. Still the same great sandwich but it's named different. I 'think' ham is the other meat on it but I'm not sure. 
