Daniel Milis is like Walter White, but instead of cooking methamphetamine, this ex-chemist stumbled into cooking terrific, cost-conscious panini sandwiches inside his curiously themed south Minneapolis coffee shop.
Before opening Key West Bistro on 38th St. and 28th Ave. six years ago, Milis worked as an analytical chemist. His favorite vacation spot off the southern coast of Florida inspired his career change. “I wanted to incorporate all my favorite things about Key West so I can survive in the winter,” he tells us.
A Racket reader tipped us off to Key West Bistro as a potential Best Budget Bites contender, promising we’d encounter a killer Cubano and a menu on which no single sandwich tops the $10 mark. But he also hyped Milis’s dedication as the quirky coffee shop’s sole worker, as well as the DIY aesthetic.
“I just love the atmosphere at Key West Bistro—it’s eclectic and just a bit off in all the right ways,” the reader tells us. “House music playing? Sure, why not. Supply boxes stored in the dining room? Of course. A haunted doll that the owner tells you not to take pictures of? Well, duh. And to top it all off, there’s a constant live stream of Key West itself playing on the TV. Why the hell not!”
When Milis opened Key West Bistro the emphasis was on strong Cuban coffees, which he sources directly from Cuban Coffee Queen in Key West. But sometime during the pandemic, the owner says, his pressed sandwiches began taking off via delivery apps. Milis doesn’t have a culinary background, though his analytical chemistry chops came in handy while concocting the sandwich menu; he approached each one as a tasty little experiment, tweaking various elements while cataloging his findings. Ditto for his scientifically rigorous approach to the house-made Key lime pie and ice cream.
But about those sandwiches: There are eight of ‘em on the menu, the perfect number for an “eat and rank” situation. Each, from the classic Cubano to the kid-friendly American, is available from open to close from Monday to Saturday, and all are served on toasted bread from Denny's 5th Avenue Bakery in Bloomington.
They are, to borrow the Key West motto painted on a wooden sign in the dining room, “close to perfect, far from normal.” The bread is just slightly sweet, toasts up perfectly, and nicely soaks up the sauces and flavors. And true to our reader’s promise, not one costs more than 10 bucks—better yet, they’re available in generous half sizes for between $5-$7 each. Every sandwich you see pictured below is a “half” size, which is an ideal lunch portion, especially if you were to add a bag of chips (or a slice of Milis’s pie).
Let’s rank ‘em!
8. The American ($5)
No lily-gilding here: This simple sandwich presses American cheese between bread for a pretty predictable grilled cheese. But the flavor of processed, pasteurized cheese melting into soft, white toast stirs up feelings of nostalgia (surely I’m not the only one who made a George Foreman grilled cheese more or less daily during college?) and if you’ve got kids in tow, we guarantee they’ll go for this gooey, cheap, and cheesy menu item. Otherwise, you can probably pass, unless you want to chef it up slightly with ham, turkey, or Cuban pork for $2.
7. Chicken Salad ($6)
After we approached the counter to place our lunch order, Milis looked up in disbelief. “Wait, are you serious?” he asked. “You want every sandwich? Is this for a review or something?” The jig was up! With our food critic anonymity busted, we confessed to Milis that our mission was to rank all the sandwiches, which had come highly recommended by a reader. The proprietor himself jokingly said to place the perfectly acceptable, cold chicken salad one last, but we don’t really have any complaints. With subtle hunks of… is that some kind of citrus? This house-made chicken salad gets the job done.
6. BBCubano ($7)
Spoiler alert: The Cubano does, in fact, rock. No sandwich at this price point has any business being this good. The fresh pineapple slaw topping this variation provided a satisfying crunch, and the pulled chicken was indistinguishable from pulled pork when slathered in sweet BBQ sauce. None of that is bad, but none of it is necessary when the standard-issue Cubano is right there for the ordering.
5. Key Wester ($6)
On the breakfast side of KWB’s menu, there’s this classic sammy, with egg and your choice of meat + cheese. The Key Wester does what it says on the box: with an over-hard egg, gooey cheese, and that griddled bread, it’s not messy, not fussy, and perfect for pairing with a strong, black cup of coffee.
4. Cuban Bagel ($5)
A quick Google search revealed that Cuban Coffee Queen, where Key West Bistro sources its beans, is known for a Cuban Bagel just like this one, which smears Cuban bread with cream cheese, a hefty drizzle of honey, and a sprinkle of everything bagel seasoning. This thing really hits—savory, sweet, salty, and creamy, it’s the kind of sensory-overload snack that entices you back bite after bite after bite. We will be recreating this one at home.
3. 6 Toed Cat ($7)
“Ernest Hemingway was given a white six-toed cat by a ship’s captain and some of the [60ish polydactyl] cats who live on the museum grounds are descendants of that original cat, named Snow White,” according to Key West’s Hemingway House museum. Now that’s interesting! Also interesting, which we don’t mean in the passive aggressive Minnesota way: The delicious 6 Toed Cat sandwich, which combines multiple crunch tiers (toasty bread crust, crisp apple slices) with gooey cheddar and tender deli turkey. The added spicy mustard zing really makes it sing.
2. Cubano ($7)
Conceptually, the Cubano is such a heavy hitter that you’ll find it on menus at just about any bar or restaurant. But when you discover an elite Cubano, one that isn’t just pork products carelessly piled high between bread? You know it. Milis tells us he studied dozens of recipes while formulating his take on the sandwich, and its execution—super-thin ham, expertly seasoned Cuban pork, melty Swiss, crunchy dill pickle, and yellow mustard pressed tight between that wonderful bread—knocks it out of the park. Far inferior attempts at this sandwich exist for $17 at establishments throughout our dumb country. “Milis doesn’t fuck with it—he knows what goes into a good Cubano and doesn’t try to change it around,” our tipster writes. “There are other pressed sandwiches on the menu using that same great bread, and while they’re decent, the Cubano is what you want.” We mostly agree! Then again, there’s The Robert…
1. The Robert ($7)
We came to Key West Bistro expecting a killer Cubano and weren’t disappointed. But we were surprised to learn it wasn’t our favorite sandwich on the menu—we’ve got an upset, folks! Robert, whoever you are, thanks for inspiring such a sammy. You’re working with the same tender pulled Cuban pork as on the Cubano, complemented here by a big red tomato that’s just as juicy as the meat. Two things help ol’ Rob sneak into the number-one spot: the pop of heat from horseradish and zest from fresh red onion. Those bolder flavors set the roast pork off marvelously and memorably.
Key West Bistro
Address: 2803 E. 38th St., Minneapolis
Hours: Monday-Friday 8:30 a.m.-6 p.m.; Saturday 9 a.m.-6 p.m.
