Swimming with Gordos and freakishly good Yuca

Gordo's was a staple for my dates with the Hubby (OMG i am married) in college. It was close to campus and affordable.  But the biggest reason was the Hubby (still weird) then boyfriend LOVED diet coke and could chug it like no else I have met.  At Gordo's the drink are in LARGE plastic cups which you can put a lid on and take with you.  This was a huge plus for a man who cant go long without his caffeine fix.  Also, I love fried plantains.  So naturally Gordo's was an  cheap, yummy and mutually agreed upon place for dates.  However, it has been years since I have been back.

So, in the interest of keeping our weekly dates cheap and I was craving Cuban food, we decided to take a stroll down memory lane.  However we went to the Timberlane location.  The new location looks alot like the other location with bright colors and lots of light wood.  The restaurant feels casual but friendly. We went on a Tuesday at 5:30 and it was like dead. I am not sure if this is because it is Tuesday at 5:30 or something we should be concerned about.  The lack of patrons meant we had our pick of any table.  We requested a booth and the too cute hostess suggested we take on of the fishy tables.  We agreed and were sat in a booth next to the aquarium photographed to the right.  Now, we don't have any kids but I would imagine these fishy booths are great for kids.  After all I had a blast watching the yellow fish swim around in the tank and making "Finding Nemo" jokes.

We started the night off right with the fried yucca. Now, I have no idea how to cook yucca   It is on my very long list of things to learn to cook....somewhere between cactus and sweetbreads.  Anywho I loved these app.  The yucca comes out HOT like burn your tongue hot with a side of Gordo's special sauce.  Yucca has the texture of potatoes but way less starchy   I highly recommend you squeeze the lime on the yucca and add salt.

For the main course I had the Media Dia which is turkey and swiss on sweet bread toasted.  I splurged and got a side of Gordos sauce to dip my sandwich in.  This will run you 50 cents but so worth it.
The sandwich was good.  Though nothing to crazy or must try.  However, the Pan con Leche that the Hubby ordered was AMAZING if you like pulled pork.  Me- I am not a pork person  I often type.  But the Hubby inhaled this thing so fast, I got worried the cute little yellow fish was next.
The only so-so thing was the plantains which as you can see from the pic were a little overcooked and dry.  I think these plantains were probably leftover from the lunch rush or something. I mean the plantains were still yummy and I totally ate them.  But just not great.

Overall- I found this Gordo's much cleaner and geared to a little older demographic (not college kids) than the original Gordos on Pensacola.  The servers were super friendly and helpful.  And I highly recommend sitting with the fishes and ordering Yucca.