Cheeseburger in Paradise
http://www.cheeseburgerinparadise.com/
It was Happy Hour yet again (albeit a miserable, rainy night) and some friends and I popped in to Cheeseburger in Paradise for our weekly meet-up. Cheeseburger in Paradise is a chain partially owned by Jimmy Buffet and focused primarily on the island feel of his music. It’s a little goofy when you walk in and see tiki huts and Hawaiian shirts, but whatever. Seeing that I could get a half sandwich and a bowl of soup for a relatively reasonable price, I decided to mix in a little food with my beer.
What I Got: Which Way Do I Steer? (1/2 sandwich and either a cup of soup or a house salad) $7.99
After seeing an episode of Throwdown recently where Bobby Flay had a Cuban sandwich challenge, I’ve had a craving for one so I ordered the El Cubano sandwich (Cuban sandwich) and also got a cup of the soup of the day (Chicken Gumbo).
The sandwich was not bad. There was nothing specacular about it, but it was meaty and for a half sandwich, I was pleasantly surprised. The bread was crusty and smashed to perfection (at least according to Cuban sandwich specifications). Again, nothing great about the taste, but it did the trick.
The real winner of the meal though was the Chicken Gumbo soup. This gumbo had rice, chicken, black beans, sausage and some other assorted vegetables. It was hearty and had a nice little spice to it. It wasn’t enough spice to knock you over, but there was enough in there so that you knew you were getting something with a little kick and being the spicy food lover that I am, I really appreciated that.
Would I Buy It Again? Yeah, I would. I’m not going to go out of my way to get this, but if I did end up at Cheeseburger in Paradise again, I would certainly consider this menu option again, especially if the gumbo is the soup of the day.
Cheeseburger in Paradise is family friendly and when the weather is nice, this is a good place to be and always has a wait for a table. They open the windows (more like garage doors) and let the open air in so that you feel that you really are drinking some beers in the Florida Keys. The food is not going to knock your socks off (they actually do have some tasty menu items like Mini Cheeseburgers) but you are really going for the environment/experience. They’ve got a lot of drink specials too, so for a chain restaurant, this place is not too shabby.
-IndianapolisEater
Tags: cheeseburger in paradise, el cubano, Food, gumbo
Didn’t it feel wrong to not get a cheeseburger?
The fish tacos are my favorite!! Grilled white fish, mango salsa, spicy sour cream — YUM!
I love the Cuban Skirt Steak Wrap and Onion Six Strings – so good!
I did enjoy going to the local Cheeseburger but do not go there any more because of the noise level. I know I am getting older but it is annoying to go to a place and you have to shout to be heard by the people at your table.
I have been to CIP once…I had a burger, it was pretty bad for $9.00 and have never been back. The gumbo doesn’t look that bad, though the color seems off, it should be darker.
I used to go to my local CIP quite often for their min-burgers and regular burgers, as they seemed to do them just right every time. I hadn’t been in a couple of years and decided to go tow weeks ago. Something has changed, and it’s not for the better. The quality of the meat was beyond lackluster, and it made their mini-burgers and their signature burger taste “off” for a lack of better words. I was really disappointed, and I’ve never left that place disappointed before. It’s an obvious change of meat suppliers in order to save a dime or two, It has to be. Even the mini-burger platter went from six burgers to four,so it’s obvious some cut backs have been made.
Sadly the end product has been effected and I’m not sure I will ever go back again. They used to blow Red Robin away, when it comes to “chain burgers”. Now I’m not even sure they’re better than the pathetic Ruby Tuesdays, which says a whole hell of a lot.
Such a shame, because years ago, CIP made burgers that could compete with the local joints, a swell a sthe best back yard griller. Not anymore.
Chesse burger in paradise…. one where i live in wnc. its bankrupt. should never have opened that. like like jeff foxwrthy… or kenny rogers. I like great hamburgers. even frozen ones. but I dont eat them every day.; burger king, hardess, wendies… its kinda like going to the convienience store.. just cause there are . never mind…I like fudruckers, and when I eat out, I dont order a tbone or even ribeye… just a hamburger steak. its like cillie or chicken and dumplings. you are looking for the one perfect moment. grandmas perfect recipie. like chesse cake, or jonah and the white wale… try to get 80/20 beef.93/7 makes good sauce. I like bk, notwithstanding the creepy ads.. and wendys is fresh, no doublt. I love their chille on a baked potatoe. ljs is good. taco hell, or pizza sllut, ahem.. hut.. not a big fan of hoe joe. I like simple lean hamburger, not covered with bacon, mushrooms or blue chesse or whatever.. like a steak, if its good, you dont need to add extra stuff. and dont even speak of turkey burgers.
Im sorry. times are hard. I like colby or kraft milld chesse. velvetta is grerat but dont buy the sanwich slices unless you are really hungry. stuff dont melt. its kind of like mres. and margirine. 98.6 we got this stuff that will with stand140. welcomce to crisco.. here is a tip… if fat wont melt in your mouth, you shoud not be eating it…not right away… like lard or butter but after 5 min.. spit it out..
If you’re looking for a good cuban sandwich may I suggest Creation Cafe?
Nice site you have here ill be sure to bookmark and visit often.