Amazing Cuban sandwich from Fast Gourmet
Did you ever think you’d get good food at a gas station? Me neither. When Fast Gourmet opened at the gas station at 14th and W this summer, I assumed that it was a pre-made sandwich place that was at best mediocre. It’s in a gas station after all!
Well, I was wrong. A reader wrote me singing their praises, I saw this SILF piece in BYT – and it was decided, time to check out the gas station sandwiches. The owners are Uruguayan, and while there menu is quite extensive – we decided to go with the Cuban sandwich ($8.50) based on BYT’s recommendation and the Chivito ($14) the Uruguayan national dish.
My boyfriend’s father is from Cuba, and boyfriend’s spent a good amount of time in Miami and loves Cuban sandwiches. His standards were set high – but Fast Gourmet didn’t disappoint. They make their own bread and you can tell, it’s what makes the sandwich. They also slow roast the pork for 7 hours (amazing). Boyfriend pronounced it the best he’d had outside of Miami.
But the real star? The Chivito. I guess we shouldn’t have been surprised given the owners are Uruguayan, but MAN is this a sandwich. It features steak, ham, bacon, mozzarella cheese, olives, slices of hard boiled egg, lettuce, tomato, and peppers. I couldn’t finish my half, but it was amazing. It is $14 but it is worth it.
The portions were huge, and the sandwiches came with fries. Honestly, the fries weren’t good and weren’t necessary, the sandwiches were plenty filling and spoke for themselves.
Fast Gourmet is open till 5:30 am on Fridays and Saturdays – let me tell you this is some great drunk food. Seriously, go there now – the food is great, the people are friendly, and since the location is so out of the way it hasn’t gotten crowded yet. I can’t imagine that will last much longer.
U Street Girl 
December 22, 2010 at 10:14 am
huh? this is at that budget gas station? with the red and white sign?
December 22, 2010 at 10:16 am
Yup – you got it. It surprised me too.
December 22, 2010 at 11:17 am
This place is incredible. I’ve been seeing it on the internet more so I guess the secret is out. I had the lamb wrap the other day and it was phenominal. I wouldn’t say that the fries are bad, they’re just average fries. If you like french fries you will like them, but they’re definitely not the reason you eat here. It looks like they have a bunch of other sides on the menu, all of which sound pretty good, so I wish they’d give you an option to substitute those in there.
December 22, 2010 at 12:08 pm
No words to describe the Chivito! You have to try it!! Even though it is at a gas station the place is very cool, modern, clean, and the guys who work there are very friendly. I’ll definitely try other stuff there, I heard their Milanesas are good too, I’ll try it next week.
December 23, 2010 at 2:02 pm
Good food at a gas station? Clearly you’ve never eaten at Sheetz! …And to a lesser extent: Wawa. 🙂
Oh how I’d dearly love for either to make a foray into DC proper instead of skirting the suburban fringe.
December 23, 2010 at 4:52 pm
Ah I have not – Boston girl whose gas food experience is Dunkin’ Donuts (great for what it is, but not great food) and NJ Turnpike food.
December 27, 2010 at 10:34 am
As someone who definitely appreciates an MTO, this place is way above Sheetz or Wawa…
December 27, 2010 at 9:20 pm
THe best sandwiches in dc
the milanesa is off the hook , the chivito is unbelievable and the cubano is too good !!!!!
u need each day for each plate the plates are gigantic and delicious
December 29, 2010 at 11:12 am
[…] once and just wrote about it a week ago – but I’m going to go ahead and say it – Fast Gourmet in the gas station at 14/W. Yes, that’s how much I loved it. I will be going there […]
February 14, 2011 at 6:20 am
[…] gas station/restaurant at the Southeast corner of 14th and W Streets NW has been talked about by U Street Girl, WUSA9 and BYT, so we thought we would find out more about their unique business model and the food […]