Photo courtesy ifoodThe Cuban Roast at Paseo:Essential does not always mean best. Essential does not always mean favorite. Essential, at least in the context of this blog project, means the things one cannot or should not miss–those single dishes, plates (or sandwiches) for which individual restaurants have become duly and deservedly famous or infamous. And at Paseo, there should be a rule:Rule #1: You do not talk about Fight ClubRule #2: If this is your first time visiting Paseo, you have to order the Cuban RoastPaseo’s Cuban Roast is an amazing sandwich, don’t get me wrong. It is the sandwich that defines the place–that fixes it firmly in the spread of Seattle restaurants as a straight-up Cuban joint with no pretensions and no desire to ever be anything else. Pork, pork and more pork, mounded up on great bread? That’s the purest expression of the sandwich as it is, and the best way to enjoy it with no distractions.Personally, I prefer the medianoche–the Midnight Cuban with its layers of roasted pork, ham, cheese and banana peppers. And I actually like the roasted chicken plate with its rice and black beans and seasoned corn on the cob and weird salad with purple cabbage and pickled beets better than I like any of the sandwiches. I could eat the roasted chicken plate every day for a week running and, on the eighth day, you know what I’d want? Another roasted chicken plate.But none of this takes away from the fact that it is the Cuban Roast that is Paseo’s best-known and most beloved menu item–the one sandwich upon which an entire two-location Cuban empire was born and thrives to this day. Having your first is a singular experience–one which every Seattleite needs to have. And after that?Well, then there’s an entire menu to explore. And that Midnight Cuban or roast chicken dinner might be an excellent place to start.