Cuban Sandwich Showdown: Tampa vs. Miami - A Culinary Journey of Tradition and Innovation.
So, which city is the better one? Which came first? What is the difference between the two? This story is almost like a good old-fashioned street gang fight, unlike "West Side Story" or the crips and bloods. It is somewhere in the middle. Let's start with which city owns the title and where it comes from. Tampa wins that. Ybor City, to be exact, holds that claim. Back in the day, Ybor was known for a thriving cigar community, and yup, you guessed it, a lot of people immigrated from Cuba. Can you think what they brought along with them, Cuban bread? Great Cuban bread is the stuff that one dreams about. Once pressed, the coating on the outside turns to this crispy, crackling crunch, and then your taste buds hit the airy, supple dough inside. Michael Manzo of Manzo's Subs in West Palm has always said, "If it weren't for my bread, I would not be in business." That is a compelling statement, as he has been in business for over thirty years. Cuban bread can be used for famous sandwiches/Medianoche, or have you ever dipped it in your café con leche? OMG NO, LIFE CHAGNING! The Bread is the best supporting actor in this food theater!
What could be the best actor, simply the proteins? Now, Tampa throws a curve ball into play. Usually, mojo pork/ham, but Tampa, they are overachievers; they throw in salami.
WHAT in the salami G-d's name is this fuckery! Simple, there was a large Italian community in Tampa, and what better way to show respect to a culture is to infuse your cuisine, to some extent? Some places in Tampa throw on lettuce, and some even throw tomatoes. Now, before you send me emails claiming it is a personal foul. That is sorcery, and tons of fuckery is afoot. I kid you not.
My problem is I was born in North Cuba, North Miami. I grew up in the "Scarface" period. I witnessed the cultural shift in Miami. I welcomed it with open arms. What better way to experience one's culture and history is to have the food from their home country? It all goes back to their passion for their food and culture. I remember I was twelve or maybe fourteen, and this restaurant was down from my parents' house. It was on 441 and Hayes Street in Hollywood; it was called Las Vegas. The family made that journey to start a better life, and all worked there. I ordered something this Jewish kid knew would be good: ham and pork. It wasn't good; it was LSD for me. I took one bite of that sandwich and was transported to this Matrix of a place. I saw, yes saw, the saltiness of the ham, the citrus of the pork, the tang of the pickles, that distinct flavor and stretch of the Swiss cheese, and then the piece de resistance the yellow mustard comes in with their flavor profile. I sat there, looked at the sandwich, and asked, "Where the hell have you been all my life!!!"
The issue is that I was raised on the east coast of Florida and now reside on the west coast of Florida. In my humble opinion, Tampa will never be the place for Cuban sandwiches because they do not offer a traditional version of a Cuban sandwich. Miami might be known for the largest group of Cuban influx into Florida, but they did not start the Cuban Sandwich. I think since the Miami Cubans did not add anything from a different culture, you are getting the most traditional one unless you go to Cuba.
Some do unique jobs on a Cuban sandwich. Couchon Butcher Shop in New Orleans is one such place. I went in about five or six years ago and was like, CUBAN, hold my beer. I tried it. It was so good. I called the chef when I got back to Florida and asked. I found out there were about sixteen ingredients in the thing.
For me, I like pushing the status quo. In school, I was always the student who asked why! I used to ask my mother so many questions that she used to ask me, "Why? Because it is a crooked letter!" In 2017, I started getting into smoking, not weed, smoking food. I researched it. I even took a master's class with Aaron Franklin. I now own three smokers, one grill, three refrigerators/freezer combos, and one stand-up freezer. One may say I have an obsession. Maybe a small one. I looked at the sandwich and thought, what would make this a Cuban Sandwich that is Craveable?
I started breaking down the components of the sandwich. I even looked at the Cuban bread. I based my reversed-engineered sandwich on the Miami version. How can I enhance the ham or the pork? I bourbon, brined the ham, and smoked it over cherrywood. I took the pork butt and developed a Latin spiced rub. I smoked that with pecan wood. I went after the condiments and thought about how and what would change this. Some places added mayo and yellow mustard, so Dijonnaise was out of the question. Swiss cheese, oh nay nay, let's upgrade to Gruyere. Pickles, dill, oh, how boring can we do something that excites the palate? I added guava paste to the mayo. I upgraded to stone ground mustard instead of yellow. I went with a semolina flour-based Cuban bread. For the pickles, I tried kimchi, birds-eye pepper, Thai chili even Scotch Bonnet; now that is exciting. Once they bit into it, I wanted my guests to say, "What just happened? What did he do to me? I need a moment!!!" I made it a point in my stage of this game called Life to cook the food I want, and I have no fucking apologies. I want craveable food. I live to eat!
