Aris Cuadra’s been racing around the local restaurant scene for more than a decade, from The Clifton to Tavola, Pasture, and Cafe Bocce. But these days, he’s content just to loaf.
That’s right, the Puerto Rican native went all in on sandwiches when he opened the Wich Lab in the CODE Building a few months ago.
“I’ve been a chef my entire adult life,” Cuadra says. “I wanted to do something simple using great ingredients and my experience as a chef.”
At the Lab, that means carefully crafting hot and cold sandwiches running the gamut from the traditional to the outside-the-breadbox. Cuadra’s got classics like Reubens, Cubans, Italians, and chickens, but they’re all done his way. The one-time New York City chef prides himself on technique—little things like making sure his buns are always buttered and toasted just so.
Cuadra says the Wich Lab’s Reuben is popular, along with his breakfast sandwiches and the best-selling Gobble Gobble, featuring turkey, bacon, avocado, everything spread, tomato jam, and arugula on homemade focaccia. Cuadra buys ciabatta and rye from Albemarle Baking Company; the focaccia is his chance to flex.
The Wich Lab’s Cubano is a Tampa take, with salami added to the traditional toppings and grilled focaccia providing the base. Cuadra makes bread every day, but he says day-olds are actually better for the pressed sandwich. “I’ve had people say it was the best sandwich they’ve ever had in their life,” Cuadra says. “That’s not my goal, but it’s nice to hear.”
One change Cuadra’s already made to his menu is eliminating stuff he thought he had to have. And while the obligatory vegan option got the hammer, the Lab still cooks up an off-the-wall vegetarian option with charred broccoli, pine nuts, pecorino cheese, potato chips, roasted garlic aioli, and pickled cranberry.
“We had a group of older people come out, and they were blown away with potato chips on a sandwich,” Cuadra says. “I have fun with menu writing. I’m creative in every aspect of what I do, from menu writing to the menu itself, the atmosphere, the music.”