No matter how you feel about El Barbudo (the bearded one), who resigned from the Cuban presidency today after nearly 50 years in power, you can probably agree with this: Cuban sandwiches are awesome. Also known as the Cubano or medianoche, the sandwich is layered affair of ham, sliced roast pork, cheese pickles and mustard on sweet, submarine-like rolls. Cuban sandwiches were likely invented not in Havana, but by immigrants in South Florida, where many Cubans settled after the Revolution. They're basically a jazzed-up version of the ham and cheese sandwiches eaten by Cuban workers across the island for centuries.
These sandwiches can be served hot and gooey from a sandwich press (my fave), or cold like an ordinary sub. Try one of these for lunch with a mango batido (thin fruit milkshake) and dream of palm trees and vintage Cadillacs.














