"Cuban sandwich" news and stories

Get prepared. Back from a trip to Key West, I'm ready to revel in all things Cuban, tropical, and rum tasty ... until I whimper for the blue seas again and retreat back into my cave.

Above is the sandwich that almost never got eaten. I went to Key West, indulged in as much rum, seafood, and Cuban food as I could handle, and then got waylayed by a freak snowstorm in Atlanta. During my extra day in the sun, I walked the length of Simonton St. and came upon Ana's Cuban Cafe (1222 White St) -- the place I kept meaning to stop at, but never made it to. I'll never make that mistake again, and I hope you won't either.

The cafe is nestled inside a simple corner store, jam-packed with drinks and food. I walked to the counter and ordered a Cuban sandwich -- ham, pulled pork, lettuce, cheese, and mustard pressed between delicious slices of Cuban bread. It was both simple and delicious -- the sort of dish that doesn't need to rely on fancy ingredients because every single one goes perfectly with the next. But the hero of this sandwich is the bread. Cuban bread is wonderfully soft inside, so getting pressed in a plancha, it crisps up easily on the outside, and condenses into almost nothing on the inside. That way, you get the perfect flavor of bread without the stomach-filling weight of a thicker variety. Divine simplicity, just like the cafe itself.

A number of Slashfoodies can't be wrong!

Note: If anyone has good recipes for Cuban bread, let me know. I've tried one thus far, but am still looking for the perfect one.

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.

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The one time I tried a Cuban sandwich, I was in South Beach. It was early morning, and I was, uh, on my way back to our hotel from our evening out. As we often are after a long night of fun and frivolity, I was hungry, so I stopped to get something to eat. I had heard of Cuban sandwiches, so I ordered one, thinking that it would be some special, sweet bread stuffed with spicy exotic fillings. Boy, was I ever disappointed that it was basically a ham and cheese sandwich pressed on a grill.

Perhaps my disappointment was naive, or perhaps the particular sandwich I ate was just poorly executed with sub-standard ingredients. I mean how could something that looks as good as Kevin's take on the Cuban sandwich be bad, especially when a key ingredient is citrus-marinated roast pork? The classic Cuban sandwich is made with Cuban bread, though an Italian or French bread can be used. The bread is slathered with yellow mustard, then layered with baked ham, thinly sliced roast pork, thinly sliced dill pickles, and Swiss cheese. The whole thing gets pressed down, traditionally on a plancha, but any type of sandwich press, even a homemade one, will do.