Adam Z.
Yelp
In planning for my trip to Seattle I spent a bunch of time looking for restaurants and coffee shops to try. Eater, Yelp, Serious Eats, all of that. Paseo was the one place that I labeled as a "must try". Their Caribbean Roast was voted as the best sandwich in America and Kenji Lopez-Alt strongly endorsed it, so yeah. He said he worked with the person who rated it as the best in America and trusts her, and that he really liked the sandwich a lot.
Well, it didn't disappoint. I probably wouldn't put it in that "best in America" tier, but I still thought it was very, very good.
The roast pork on the Caribbean Roast was excellent. Soft, juicy, meaty. They definitely didn't skimp on the meat, and that actually really added to the enjoyment. There's something nice about biting into a nice big hunk of pork. Mmm.
The pork was complemented by this sort of sweet, creamy sauce. The sauce was really good. It wasn't overwhelming, but it added some additional creaminess and moisture. Something about the flavor was just perfect.
The bread was fine but nothing special. It largely served to sop up all of the juiciness and sauce. I think better bread would have improved the sandwich though.
The add ons got relegated to the background IMO. There was a piece of lettuce, and some pickled jalapanos in there, but I barely noticed them. Well, in a few bites I did. And they were good. The lettuce added a nice crisp and a very small hint of freshness that was a nice balance to the meatiness. And the japalano added a nice kick of spice. I wish I got more of that from the sandwich.
Oh, there were onions too. I almost forgot. Like the other add ons, they were good when I caught them, but I mostly didn't notice the onions and wish I had noticed them more.
The biggest issue I had with the sandwich was how messy it was. It basically falls apart as you eat it. To each their own, but personally I would definitely prefer to avoid that.
To be clear though, despite these critiques, the sandwich was incredibly satisfying and awesome. One of the best sandwiches I've had in my life, and if I lived in Seattle I'd definitely be a regular here.
The salad was fine but not great. The lettuce was crunchy but not the freshest. Grocery store stuff, probably. The dressing was something sorta creamy. And they dressed the salad with the dressing well, but it was on the subtle side. I would have preferred more flavor from the dressing.
The candied nuts were nice but were too small. They kinda disappeared. I would have wanted some bigger chunks.
The citrus fruits were ok. Pineapple and orange I think. A bit too much pineapple for me. It turned out to be notably too sweet. Not to the point of being overwhelming, but I'd definitely dial it back. Less sweetness, more crunchiness from the nuts and freshness from the lettuce.