The Cuban Sandwich Blog

Variations on a Theme Cuban sandwich with honey and garlic...

Wed, 22 May 2013 12:41:09 -0400

Variations on a Theme

Cuban sandwich with honey and garlic powder

Sunset Market

Tampa, Fla.

Cubans On The Go RaceTrac Tampa, Fla.

Wed, 22 May 2013 12:15:00 -0400

Cubans On The Go

RaceTrac

Tampa, Fla.

Cubanos In The News On Saveur magazines blog The Daily Fare,...

Tue, 14 May 2013 15:59:43 -0400

Cubanos In The News

On Saveur magazines blog The Daily Fare, writer Gabriella Gershenson details the rich history of the Cuban sandwich in its Tampa birthplace.

An excerpt:

There’s no shortage of Cuban sandwiches there; in fact, you’ll find signs at establishments all around the city flaunting the status of being the “birthplace of theCubano.” On my visits to Tampa over the years, I never took these claims very seriously, brushing them off the way I would any other ad that claims a superlative. But not too long ago, I made a long overdue visit to Ybor City, Tampa’s historic Cuban enclave that at the turn of the last century was the cigar manufacturing capital of the world. There, I was forced to reconsider my skepticism about Tampa’s Cuban sandwich. And I decided to eat a few, too.

It turns out that in the late 1880s, Tampa was the recipient of a huge influx of Cuban workers who brought with them their tradition of cigar-making. Ybor City, a municipality named for cigar factory owner Vicente Martinez Ybor, housed the factories, their workers, and the restaurants and food traditions that sprung up around them. While Ybor became a polyglot community of immigrants from around the world working side-by-side in the cigar factories, the flavor of the place remained distinctly Cuban.

Andy Huse, a librarian at the University of South Tampa and a self-proclaimed Cuban sandwich historian, explained to me that while eating establishments did feed workers, female factory employees were discouraged from visiting them, as they served alcohol and were generally considered houses of ill repute. The Cuban sandwich as we know it developed under these circumstances: The easily portable meal was one that men could easily carry with them from the restaurants back to the line, and that cafeteros, coffee carts that kept workers in cafe con leche and other refreshments, would shuttle to the female workers back at the factory.

The Cuban sandwich wasn’t always known as a Cuban sandwich: It most likely migrated to Tampa in the guise of the mixto, so-named for its variable combination of meats. (Pork and ham are mandatory; salami appears depending on where you live: It’s an essential part of a Tampa Cubano and sacrilege in Miami.) But as it evolved, its components became codified: “Cuban bread, mojo roast pork, ham, salami, swiss cheese, pickles, mustard, mayonnaise on request,” Huse recites. He says that by the 1920s and ’30s, the sandwich was everywhere in Tampa, the city’s contribution to the growing American repertoire of portable, working-class foods, like hamburgers and hot dogs.

Variations on a Theme Cuban flatbread - Thin-sliced ham and...

Tue, 14 May 2013 15:44:12 -0400

Variations on a Theme

Cuban flatbread - Thin-sliced ham and pork, pickles, Swiss cheese, mozzarella cheese, mustard aioli drizzle.

Seasons 52

Tampa, Fla

Friends of the Cuban Breakfast of cafe con leche grande y...

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 12:06:35 -0400

Friends of the Cuban

Breakfast of cafe con leche grande y tostada con mantequilla.

Karla Bakery

Miami, Fla.

(Hat tip: Droolius)

Sandwiches of the Realm El Cubano Cigar City Brewpub Tampa, Fla.

Sun, 21 Apr 2013 02:24:00 -0400

Sandwiches of the Realm

El Cubano

Cigar City Brewpub

Tampa, Fla.

Art of the Cuban Armenia Avenue Tampa, Fla.

Sun, 21 Apr 2013 01:45:00 -0400

Art of the Cuban

Armenia Avenue

Tampa, Fla.

Variations on a Theme El Cubano Smoked pork and ham, sopressata,...

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 11:28:00 -0400

Variations on a Theme

El Cubano

Smoked pork and ham, sopressata, Vidalia onions, pickles, gruyere.

Boca Kitchen Bar & Market

Tampa, Fla.

Sandwiches of the Realm Hot Rod’s BBQ & Grill Lutz, Fla.

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 11:23:00 -0400

Sandwiches of the Realm

Hot Rod’s BBQ & Grill

Lutz, Fla.

Vatiations on a Theme The French Cuban Piquant Hyde Park...

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 08:07:00 -0400

Vatiations on a Theme

The French Cuban

Piquant

Hyde Park Village, Tampa, Fla.

Party Time Cuban Sandwich Festival, Tampa, Fla

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 07:55:00 -0400

Party Time

Cuban Sandwich Festival,

Tampa, Fla

Party Time Cuban Sandwich Festival, Tampa, Fla

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 07:48:32 -0400

Party Time

Cuban Sandwich Festival,

Tampa, Fla

Variations of a Theme Monte Castro fried Cuban Dochos...

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 07:44:00 -0400

Variations of a Theme

Monte Castro fried Cuban

Dochos Concession

Tampa, Fla

Celebrating the Cuban Cuban Sandwich Festival April 30,...

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 07:42:00 -0400

Celebrating the Cuban

Cuban Sandwich Festival

April 30, 2013

Tampa, Fla.

Federal regulations prohibit businesses accepting government EBT...

Wed, 09 Jan 2013 07:41:13 -0500

Federal regulations prohibit businesses accepting government EBT money from selling freshly pressed Cuban sandwiches to public assistance customers because it constitutes “prepared” foods.

That needs to change. Everyone, no matter what, deserves a hot, pressed Cuban.

Cuban Family Tree The Big Guava - smoked turkey and guava cream...

Wed, 09 Jan 2013 07:36:31 -0500

Cuban Family Tree

The Big Guava - smoked turkey and guava cream cheese on pressed Cuban bread.

My god, it’s full of stars. — at Pipo’s.

Home of the Cuban Sandwich Palm Ave. Sandwich Shop Tampa. Fla.

Tue, 13 Nov 2012 04:27:38 -0500

Home of the Cuban Sandwich

Palm Ave. Sandwich Shop

Tampa. Fla.

healthylatinfood: I might officially be obsessed with Panera’s...

Mon, 12 Nov 2012 17:39:00 -0500

healthylatinfood:

I might officially be obsessed with Panera’s black bean soup & chicken Cuban sandwich. SO good! (at Panera Bread)

The Art of the Cuban Ybor City, Fla.

Thu, 25 Oct 2012 16:11:22 -0400

The Art of the Cuban

Ybor City, Fla.

Anatomy Of A Cuban Sandwich Vending machine, Tampa Tribune lunch...

Wed, 17 Oct 2012 16:01:00 -0400

Anatomy Of A Cuban Sandwich

Vending machine, Tampa Tribune lunch room

Tampa, Fla.