A Birthday Luncheon at Super Pan

Birthdays are special occasions where you are either a member of camp #1 and refuse to accept the fact that you are a year older and want nothing to do with the day, or camp #2 where you choose them as a reason to celebrate in style with those you love.  Luckily for me, C is a member of camp #2, so I took a half-day off work on Wednesday to take him to Super Pan for lunch.  I had heard nothing but praises sang and hats tipped for Hector Santiago and his crew from the moment the shop opened so I was looking forward to eating one of their "moderately-priced, but totally worth it" sandwiches and seeing if the buzz was well-deserved.


Since Super Pan is only open Tuesday through Friday, 11:30am - 2:30pm,  we were delighted to find absolutely no line inside when we arrived.  Our friends, Super Pan veterans, were just as excited as we were and the four of us magically glided upstairs feeling like VIPs. (Happy Birthday, indeed!)  We made our selections, grabbed bags of chips and bottles of Mexican Coca-Colas and took our pick of the many available tables in the lower-level dining area.

We all chose to split a couple of the special empanadas (beef, mushroom and cheese) and those arrived first.  They were fresh, cheesy, gooey and straight out of the fryer.  C and I broke ours open to let it cool before eating but agreed that we were glad we ordered the special.  Apparently, the sizing has changed and Super Pan now serves one big empanada per order instead of the several smaller ones that used to come standard. In any case, they were delicious and the ingredients complimentary and well-balanced.  I found it to be a bit on the salty side, but that did not stop me from enjoying this precursor to my super sandwich.



From the moment our food arrived, I knew we were in for a treat.

sandwich photo op

C ordered the BBQ Rib Bolillo (pictured on the bottom right) and the sandwich was huge.  Made up of beef rib adobo meat, carrots, onions, cilantro, and an orange chipotle BBQ dipping sauce, the sandwich was massive.  The toothpick held the key to the Bolillo's architectural integrity and C had to leave it in the whole time while eating it.  The construction of bread and meat was a bit of a puzzle, but did not stop us from enjoying the sandwich.  The orange chipotle sauce was quite spicy (the way I like it) and the portion was very generous.  We shared bites and C ended up having to eat the meat out of the bread so it would not go to waste.  Heck, if someone woke up at 5am to smoke and make the meat for my sandwich, I know I would do the same!

 My selection (pictured left) was a spin on the Cuban sandwich, called the Medio Dia and was made of adobo pork, ham, choyote pickles and swiss with a habanero mustard and clove salt served on pineapple bread.  I took one bite of this sandwich and saw heaven.  My friend Jordan said he teared up the first time he tried this sandwich.  What I loved about the presentation was the relaxed and casual feeling behind everything.  Sure, the Medio Dia came wrapped in a banana leaf, but we received everything in baskets and waxed paper.  Super Pan lends itself to a real homey feeling and for a moment I forgot I was dining in Atlanta.

Back to the sandwich, the Medio Dia was better than I expected. The pineapple bread was sweet, but not too sweet and you could only get a taste of the pineapple when you broke it off and tried it separately.  The meats were perfectly tender and the combination of flavors in the two types of pork danced.  If I could marry a sandwich, I dare say the Medio Dia would be a contender.

What birthday luncheon would be complete without dessert, you ask?  Well, this one certainly came to a close on a high note.  The Farm Egg Flan with burnt caramel was one of the better flans I've had.  Normally, I'm not too fond of flan.  Mediocre flan tends to have a "scrambled tofu" consistency that is a bit of a turn off, so I was delighted to find that Super Pan's flan was creamy, smooth and the perfect size and consistency.  The portion might seem small, but it is rich and packs a big punch.  The flan was decadent and even though we were full we could not leave without finishing the dessert.  The burnt caramel did not disappoint...this flan could hold its own with the best of flans.

So, will I be returning to Super Pan? Was the birthday lunch worth all of the hype?  Let's just say, I know exactly where I'm going for lunch on my next day off from work.