From Alaska to Cuba, our huge Christmas dinner will be global

A butterflied whole roasted pig at La Pola in West New York, a Cuban-sandwich shop that is a magnet for pork lovers at the holidays, below. A whole pig is $300.

Belarmino Rico named his shop after La Pola, the town in Spain where he was born. Few would argue with his claim that he is "The King of the Cuban Sandwich," which he learned to make in Havana after emigrating to Cuba.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

I've lost count of how many courses we are planning for our Christmas dinner.

We've been gathering food since Monday, and this afternoon, my wife went to the ShopRite in Paramus for four live lobsters ($8.99 a pound).

Meanwhile, I brought home more than a pound of fresh spinach, which we plan to cook with extra-virgin olive and garlic.

Earlier, my wife visited a family friend who prepared five whole fish for our dinner on Thursday.

They will join king crab legs from Alaska ($17.99 a pound at Costco Wholesale in Hackensack), and Cuban-style roast pork with all the trimmings from La Pola in West New York.

The tip jar at La Pola.

Tortilla Espanola is a Spanish potato omelet.

A tray of steaming Cuban tamales.

We join the pork pilgrimage 

Every year on the day before Christmas, hundreds of Cuban-Americans and lovers of their garlic-rich cooking make the pilgrimage to La Pola, a Cuban-sandwich shop at 54th Street and Palisade Avenue in West New York.

Proprietor Belarmino Rico -- with the help of sons Tony and Joe, his wife and his loyal employees -- does a 24-hour marathon of preparing roast pork and side dishes for customers who stream into the small shop to pick up what they pre-ordered.

The day before Christmas is the busiest, but Rico also prepares Cuban holiday dishes for Thanksgiving and the new year.

This morning, my son joined me for the drive to La Pola, where he had a crispy Cuban sandwich and I sipped cafe con leche as I caught up with the Ricos.

We took home a roasted pork leg, a small Tortilla Espanola, a tray of Yuca with Garlic and another of Aroz Morro or congris, which is white rice cooked with black beans.

A couple of bags of Plantain Chips and a small plate of Chicharones or fried pork rinds completed our order.

Yuca with garlic is true comfort food.

The classic Cuban Black Beans.

A glazed ham.

The Ricos and their employees work tirelessly to fill Christmas orders.

Today, Belarmino Rico, center, waited on a steady stream of customers who had pre-ordered roast pork and side dishes for Christmas.

All of the legs, shoulders and whole pigs are roasted in a pizza oven, above.

La Pola's Cuban Sandwich ($7) is prepared in a heated press or plancha: The classic ingredients are roast pork, ham, Swiss cheese, mustard and pickles.

Joe Rico.

The six provinces of Cuba, above, and the Spanish flag, below, are painted on La Pola's plate-glass windows.

If you missed ordering roast pork for Christmas, La Pola will be taking orders for New Year's Eve.

La Pola, 5400 Palisade Ave., West New York; 1-201-867-6028. Closed Christmas Day. Closed Sundays. Cash only.

A Cuban sandwich for everyone

The classic Cubano at the 32-year-old La Pola in West New York. 

El Nuevo Cubano was made with smoked wild salmon I supplied.

One of the things I've missed since I stopped eating meat is the warm, crusty classic from the Caribbean's biggest island -- the Cuban Sandwich or Cubano.

There's no need to go to Miami. You'll find one of the best at La Pola Restaurant in West New York.

"The King of the Cuban Sandwich" is no idle boast.

La Pola's plate-glass windows are beautifully decorated.

Since he opened in 1980, Belarmino Rico has sold more than 2 million Cuban sandwiches at La Pola, his corner storefront -- and that is a conservative estimate.

All of the sandwiches go into a heated press called la plancha.

We jumped in the car this past Thursday to visit the owner of La Pola, Belarmino Rico, who everyone calls "Rico," which happens to be the Spanish word for "delicious."

Rico was born in a village called La Pola in Spain, but spent formative years in Havana, where he learned how to make the sandwiches at his uncle's bodega.

My teenage son also missed the classic sandwich, and I had found a possible solution to ending my craving: substituting smoked wild Alaskan salmon for two of the main ingredients, roast pork and Virginia ham.

At La Pola, ham and pork are roasted starting at 4 a..m., then hand sliced for sandwiches.

In addition to Cubanos, Rico offers daily Cuban creole specials and such Spanish dishes as tortilla Espanola, a potato omelet, and a meat-filled empanada.

But we went for the sandwiches, and my son grabbed a half of the $6 classic hot from the clam-shell grill, and started eating before I could take a photo.

  

A glass of fresh sugar-cane juice is $4-- 50 cents more without ice.

Rico was a whirlwind -- heating sandwiches in the press, moistening them with his own dressing, then turning around to his cutting board to slice and wrap up sandwiches to go. 

Here is the link to a short video of him in action:
"Para llevar, Alfredo?" 

Rico was patient with me when I asked him to make my sandwich with slices of the smoked wild Alaskan sockeye salmon I buy at Costco Wholesale.

He "held" the pork and ham, but made the sandwich as he normally would with sliced Swiss cheese, mustard, pickles and his own mojito -- Spanish olive oil, garlic, lemon juice and a little salt.

The Cubano with salmon was everything this great sandwich could be: 

First, your teeth breaks through the toasted crust of Cuban water bread to the melted cheese below, then you taste the salty salmon, mustard, pickles and mojito -- a delicious combination you won't find in any other sandwich.

Next time, I'll order a cafe con leche to wash it down.

Daily specials are listed on the tiled wall.

Cuban sandwiches ready for the heated press.

Cicharrones or pork rinds also are available.

La Pola Restaurant, 5400 Palisade Ave., West New York; 201-867-6028; open 5 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays to Saturdays. Closed Sundays. No credit cards.

Hunting and gathering for Christmas

Belarmino Rico, left, master of the Cuban sandwich, and son Joseph at La Pola, their shop in West New York. The elder Rico is widely known as "King of the Cuban Sandwich."

The plan was to hit the gym at 9 a.m. and be among the first customers at Costco in Hackensack for its 10 a.m. opening today, but the store opened an hour early and the parking lot was half full when I got there, with traffic backed up in the turn lane and beyond at Kansas and South River streets.

My first stop was to get my Costco-bought eyeglasses adjusted and my second was the Seafood Road Show. 

There were about a half-dozen customers ahead of me, and I discussed the large lobster tails from Colombia with the man behind me, because they are the only seafood sold at Costco treated with a preservative, sodium bisulfite. I have never bought them because of the preservative.

Wikipedia says sodium bisulfite is used in wine and on leafy greens.

"In the case of wine making, sodium bisulfite releases sulfur dioxide gas when added to water or products containing water. The sulfur dioxide kills yeasts, fungi, and bacteria in the grape juice before fermentation.
 
"Sodium bisulfite is also added to leafy green vegetables in salad bars and elsewhere, to preserve apparent freshness, under names like LeafGreen. The concentration is sometimes high enough to cause severe allergic reactions.

 "In the 1980s, sodium bisulfite was banned from use on raw fruits and vegetables in the United States following the deaths of 13 people who unknowingly consumed produce treated with excessive amounts of the substance. "

I did buy three red king crab legs ($19.99 a pound), seven sea scallops ($12.99 a pound) and a pound and a half of U-15 farmed prawns ($9.99 a pound). 

I picked up a box of clementines from Spain for $4.99, a dollar less than when they appeared initially; five pounds of lemons, $6.79; and two pounds of Sunset-brand, herbicide-free Roma tomatoes, $4.99.

Cuban interlude

Around noon, we made our annual trek to La Pola, a Cuban sandwich shop in West New York, where the proprietor, his wife, sons Tony and Joseph, and employees greet a steady stream of customers who had placed orders for whole roasted pigs, pork shoulders, hams and ribs -- plus traditional side dishes -- for their Christmas dinners.

The atmosphere is always warm and welcoming. Belarmino Rico, who moved from his native La Pola in Spain to Havana, Cuba, is known far and wide as "King of the Cuban Sandwich."

His son Joseph feeds the heated press, or plancha, with sandwiches as the elder Rico and his helpers package pork and side dishes for customers.

We took home a small section of pork ribs; congris or white rice cooked with black beans; yuca, a garlic sauce for the meat and addictive, store-made plantain chips that have far less salt than commercial ones. Last year, we enjoyed a tortilla espanola, a Spanish potato omelet.

My wife and son ordered Cuban sandwiches -- roast pork, ham, Swiss cheese, pickles, mustard and garlic sauce. The heated press had melted the cheese and crisped the foot-long pan de agua or water bread.

For Christmas dinner on Saturday, I'll serve them appetizers of crab and prawns, then Cuban-style ribs with side dishes. My dinner will be all Costco seafood: crab leg, prawns and sea scallops.

La Pola, Palisade Avenue and 54th Street, West New York; 201-867-6028.