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.

We already rounded up the highlights of the food world from 2006 in a comprehensive a to z list and highlighted a couple of trends that we see coming up in 2007, but the Miami Herald has their own list of predictions for the top food trends of 2007. The list runs from A, for "Anti-aging products for boomers," to U, "Upscale salts" (v-z are left out) and highlights include:

• Downsized desserts -- small sizes appeal to health-conscious eaters, but also mean that people will be tempted to take more "bites" than they would o a single dessert, especially if the pastry chef goes for big, creative flavors in spite of the dessert's small size.
• Hamburgers and hot dogs go haute -- More chefs tackle these favorites, from Thomas Keller and Joe Bastianich (Mario Batali's partner) to Rachael Ray, who is rumored to be planning her own burger joint.
• Mad science meets fine dining -- Molecular gastronomy meets the mainstream, as more chefs gain access to the ideas and tools needed to create some of the unusual presentations made popular by Ferran Adria. Like foam.
• Salt backlash -- Contrasting with the trend for gourmet salts, food watchdogs looking for their next fight could move on to salt from trans fats in a matter of months.

The 2006 Miami Book Fair is coming up in just a few short weeks and it is a great place to get up close and personal of hundreds of celebrated authors from around the world. Of course, we have a particular interest in the food writers and cookbook authors who will be there and after seeing the list of attendees, we were not disappointed. Food lovers will see:

• Wine writer Jay McInerney
• Jennifer Rubell, author of Real Life Entertaining
• Fit and fast food writer Linda Gassenheimer
• Caterer, cook and author Diane Goodman
• Havana Salsa author Viviana Carballo
• And the "it" chef/writer of the moment, Anthony Bourdain

Slashfood readers can expect to see the works of these authors, as well as several others, featured here leading up to the Fair. Others in attendance will be authors of the non-food persuasion and include Isabel Allende, Nora Ephron and Thomas Cahill.

On top of the opportunity to interact with the authors and attend wonderful seminars, there is also a huge street fair that goes along with the event, where visitors will find everything from books and art to food and drinks from around the world. Since it's Miami, expect to see lots of Cuban and Caribbean offerings.

The Book Fair will be Florida Center for the Literary Arts at Miami Dade College's Wolfson Campus from November 12 – 19, 2006.

Today's Miami Herald features a story about what may soon be the peak of the mojito's popularity. The muddled mix of lime, mint, rum, sugar and soda was recently added to the menus at TGI Friday's and it'll soon show up in the new Miami Vice, the Herald reports. A huge marketing push from Bacardi is partially to thank. Sadly, another sign of the mojito's rise to stardom is the increase in pre-made mojito mixes. It seems to me that these sort of defeat the purpose of the drink, as the on-the-spot blending of its fresh ingredients are really what makes it so refreshing. Those of you already passing up mojitos for caipirinhas can give yourselves a pat on the back though, as the Herald reports that the similar Brazilian cocktail will be the next big thing. Somewhere, at a TGI Friday's, someone is probably ordering a mo-gee-to right now...

Not to be confused with art made from ripening bananas, the Miami Herald recently ran an interesting profile on Pat Foster (right), the director of ripening for Chiquita in Port Everglades, Florida. As the shipments of bananas (400 tons a week) come in, Foster decides how the fruit should be ripened using ethylene, a gas that also occurs naturally as fruit ripens. According to the article, Foster has to consider not only the weather and production patterns in the countries where the bananas are grown, but also the buying habits of the customers to whom they're being shipped. Hispanic customers in some areas by fruit more frequently, so it must be closer to ripe. Other customers might only make it to the store once a week, so they want greener bananas. Foster has apparently been working with bananas for 40 years and has trained other ripeners all over the country.

[Photo: Jared Lazarus/Miami Herald]
[Via FreshPlaza]

Would you eat at a restaurant when the purveyor of the foods says “food is overrated”? Not that he is referring to his food, mind you, but to food in general. “Restaurateur, nightlife mogul and celebrity dentist," Dr. Tim Hogle is the man who would rather not eat than eat something that isn’t on his very strict diet, though he owns a series of Miami Beach restaurants. afterglo, his newest venture, does not serve health food per se, but functional foods that are intended to have beneficial effects on the body and not simply to sustain life. Plying food to the body-conscious and sun-bleached crowd can be challenging and the restaurant serves foods that are wild, raw and, of course, organic. Hogle calls it “beauty cuisine,” though the irony of marketing supremely natural foods to a population of plastic people will not escape the notice of some. “Everything has a low GI, is highly alkaline (which reputedly helps regenerate cells) and packed with enzymes, minerals and antioxidants” according to the Independent.

Certainly sounds purposeful, but does someone who eats only for functionality sacrifice taste at his restaurant? Apparently not, since the restaurant has received good reviews. One does have to wonder whether or not Hogle will actually eat everything on his menu.

[Image of afterglo's raw "sushi" via Click Clack]

A Miami Burger King employee ripped off his headset and climbed through the drive-through window to attack a customer after an argument erupted over correct change. According to the Miami Herald, Burger King employee Michael Perez claims that the Kevin Gillis, who was buying two orders of fries for his three young daughters, also in the car, addressed him with a racial slur after the two argued over Gillis's change. Enraged, Perez came through the window, reached into Gillis's truck and punched him in the face. Gillis then got out of his truck and tackled Perez, fearing for the safety of his wife and daughters, who had also exited the truck. Perez was subsequently arrested.

[Via Restaurant News Resource]

Today’s Miami Herald features an article about Afterglo, a new restaurant from dentist-turned-restauranteur Tim Hogle (Miami’s Tantra) and former Nemo chef Michael Schwartz.  The theme of this new South Beach venture is—surprise—food to make you beautiful.

Hogle calls it “beautritional” cuisine. While much of the menu includes notoriously healthy fare, the emphasis at Afterglo is admittedly on good looks, not good health.

If beauty is a complicated thing, so are the menu offerings at Afterglo. How about “chile- and mint-sparked bison ceviche,” or a wheat grass martini.

Unfortunately, the article doesn't really say how much of the food tastes. I guess maybe that isn't the point if you're eating for beauty.