Cuban

I'm not very experienced with Cuban sandwiches or other Cuban food, but IMHO a truly great Cuban restaurant is "El Sibony" in Key West. A Cuban family owns and runs it out of what looks like used to be a private home in a residential area of Key West. You won't leave hungry and it's very reasonably priced as I recall.

Here in Richmond, VA., I can recommend a little place off of Monument Ave in the Fan District called "Kuba Kuba". It is in an old vintage pharmacy and is owned and run by a Cuban family. So, Cuban sandwiches aren't far away in central Va.

Frank

quote:

Originally posted by chezkatie[br
GRILLED CUBAN SANDWICH
Roast Pork, Sweet Ham, baked Ham, Swiss cheese, Pickles, Mustard, Butter on Cuban Bread
(Made on the grill) and pressed to perfection!

so--if i find a nice firm 'frenc' style bread and tuck this stuff in it and stick it in my old waffle iron with the reversable grill/waffle heads and wide hinges and grill till warm/hot--then that should be a good thing,right shouldnt that be "Fairly authentic"
BTW what EXACTLY is "sweet ham" & yellow,dijon,gouldens mustard

Guess I'm the odd one out. I love cubans but prefer not having them pressedI love the bread chewy. If anyone ever makes it to Gainesville, must have cubans are at La Familia, and Mi Apa. The latter tends to use too much ham though, you can barely even get it in your mouth, pressed would make it more edible I suppose.

emsmom,

There's a small Cuban restaurant down in Rock Hill, SC. Haven't had the pleasure of a Cuban sandwich, but their entrees are really good. It's Cuban owned. (By Carlos, of course.)

Carlos' Cafe Cuban Restaurant
1998 Cherry Rd.
Rock Hill, SC
803-329-7171

Thanks Jim,
Rock Hill is very close to us here in Gastonia. Just about a 30 minute drive from my house. I'll have to give it a try.

quote:

Originally posted by tiki

quote:

Originally posted by chezkatie[br
GRILLED CUBAN SANDWICH
Roast Pork, Sweet Ham, baked Ham, Swiss cheese, Pickles, Mustard, Butter on Cuban Bread
(Made on the grill) and pressed to perfection!

so--if i find a nice firm 'frenc' style bread and tuck this stuff in it and stick it in my old waffle iron with the reversable grill/waffle heads and wide hinges and grill till warm/hot--then
that should be a good thing,right shouldnt that be "Fairly authentic"
BTW what EXACTLY is "sweet ham" & yellow,dijon,gouldens mustard

I consider sweet ham (and I may be wrong) as the deli ham that one buys........get it sliced very thin or shaved for this sandwich. (I have always used just one ham; either the deli stuff or very thinly sliced leftover baked ham.) The only mustard I have ever had on a Cuban sandwich is the bright yellow stuff. The roast pork must be sliced thin and to be authenic and have that great flavor really should be roasted Cuban style.........but I have used plain roasted pork many times.

quote:

Originally posted by chezkatie

quote:

Originally posted by tiki

quote:

Originally posted by chezkatie[br
GRILLED CUBAN SANDWICH
Roast Pork, Sweet Ham, baked Ham, Swiss cheese, Pickles, Mustard, Butter on Cuban Bread
(Made on the grill) and pressed to perfection!

so--if i find a nice firm 'frenc' style bread and tuck this stuff in it and stick it in my old waffle iron with the reversable grill/waffle heads and wide hinges and grill till warm/hot--then
that should be a good thing,right shouldnt that be "Fairly authentic"
BTW what EXACTLY is "sweet ham" & yellow,dijon,gouldens mustard

I consider sweet ham (and I may be wrong) as the deli ham that one buys........get it sliced very thin or shaved for this sandwich. (I have always used just one ham; either the deli stuff or very thinly sliced leftover baked ham.) The only mustard I have ever had on a Cuban sandwich is the bright yellow stuff. The roast pork must be sliced thin and to be authenic and have that great flavor really should be roasted Cuban style.........but I have used plain roasted pork many times.

Thanks--think i can do this sandwich justice! Building a "Cuban Coffin?" cooker that aught to supply the pork nicely

quote:

Originally posted by chezkatie
The roast pork must be sliced thin and to be authenic and have that great flavor really should be roasted Cuban style.........but I have used plain roasted pork many times.

Once again, I think the stuff Trader Joe's sells as "carnitas" would work very well for this.

Ever have a cold cuban
Just ate my first well prepared cuban and I enjoyed it alot more than one where the pickles are still cold and the cheese not melted completly.

quote:

Originally posted by Sasaku

Ever have a cold cuban
Just ate my first well prepared cuban and I enjoyed it alot more than one where the pickles are still cold and the cheese not melted completly.

I can believe that! Never had one cold...had some that were not hot by the time I got to eat them, but weren't cold, and even at luke warm they lost something!

If you are anywhere near Tallahassee, FL be sure to check out Gordo's on West Pensacola street. The cuban sandwiches are awesome. I think the owners are from Miami so I think they are authentic(I have no point of reference). Authentic or not, they rock!

A displaced North Floridian,

Dave

Having ate at Carlos' in Rock Hill a few times with my Cuban familia...his food (well his wife's, for she cooks!) is authentic and well worth the visit. Prices are great, hospitality is top notch, and the food is the tastiest I have had next to La Carreta in South Florida.

A great little chain of "cuban" restaurants in south Florida, mostly around Miami, but one is in Brandon, FL on Bloomingdale Ave is the Latin Cafe. Great selection of cuban sandwiches. I believe Chezkatie mentioned earlier that she'd never seen a cuban sandwich with lettuce, and I believe she is correct. A sandwich with lettuce is called a "Pavo".

carl reitz

I read in an earlier post that Hooters has a Cuban Sandwich?Is that all Hooters?I must investigate!

quote:

Originally posted by jellybear

I read in an earlier post that Hooters has a Cuban Sandwich?Is that all Hooters?I must investigate!

...and then you can buy a Playboy magazine just for the articles!

i consider myself an expert on cubans. in my opinion the best cuban sandwiches in the country can be found in thse three places: in the miami area; latin america on coral way in the tampa area; the floridian in treasure island and in the northeast; havana sandwich cafe in bloomfield, nj.

quote:

Originally posted by geolugo2

i consider myself an expert on cubans. in my opinion the best cuban sandwiches in the country can be found in thse three places: in the miami area; latin america on coral way in the tampa area; the floridian in treasure island and in the northeast; havana sandwich cafe in bloomfield, nj.

Any good Cubans close to WDW in Orlando?

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

quote:

Originally posted by Sundancer7

quote:

Originally posted by geolugo2

i consider myself an expert on cubans. in my opinion the best cuban sandwiches in the country can be found in thse three places: in the miami area; latin america on coral way in the tampa area; the floridian in treasure island and in the northeast; havana sandwich cafe in bloomfield, nj.

Any good Cubans close to WDW in Orlando?

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

The closest place to where you are staying to get a good Cuban sandwich would be the Columbia in Celebration (Disney's planned community) which is a very short distance. The Columbia (an old time Ybor City restaurant) has a restaurant there. I have heard that their Cuban sandwiches are awesome but have never eaten one there. I know that their other food is terrific........pricier than a Roadfood restaurant but excellent. The money saved on gas would probably make up the difference in the cost of a sandwich there.

Thanks Chezkatie: Columbia at Celebration it is!!

Now I have to find Celebration. I will search the web.

Found it!
http://www.columbiarestaurant.com/celebration.asp

Thanks,
Paul

I had an unremarkable, featured, "Cubano" at Bugaboo Creek over the weekend. Chicken and cheese with a few pickles that looked to have been grilled with a light weight. No ham, no pork, and no sandwich press.

First, let me acknowledge that I ate at Ruby Tuesday this week, but only because my customer suggested it. I had to. There. But, thye are selling a Cuban sandwich and it was actually quite good for RT. Let em put it this way, the bread, though not Cuban, was at least still thin, they had the right ingredients and it was pretty good.

carl reitz

The Sundancer is not a huge fan of Hooters but I notice on their web site that they now do a Cuban sandwich. I know nothing of their quality.

http://www.hooters.com/menu/

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

Paul, no one goes there for the quality.

P.S. Did you ever get to try a Cuban when you were in Florida?

The Sundancer ain't that old and I certainly appreciate eye candy but for some reason, I do not do Hooters.

Carlton, I ate at the Columbia in Celebration by Disney. It is a beautiful city south of the WDW complex. A beautiful town to live in. I posted the result somewhere else. I talked with the manager for some time and he came back and comped me a Cuban and a 1905 salad. I also had paella and ropa. Wonderful place. Bushie and Chezkatie turned me on to the wonderful place. Not exactly roadfood but very good.

Paul E. Smith
knoxville, TN

quote:

Originally posted by Sundancer7

The Sundancer is not a huge fan of Hooters

Paul, what kind of birdwatcher doesn't like OWLS ?

They added panini presses at the cafeteria at work this year, and the sandwiches they make are really good, depending on the ingrediants. They sometimes do a pizza thing which I don't care for, but the roast beef with spinach and cheese and some of the chicken sandwiches are delicious. Is a panini the same as a Cuban?

I know if I'm wrong someone will correct me, but I think a panini is simply a press for making flat sandwiches, such as a cuban. I usually just use a cast iron skillet to do the the same thing.

Well upon my investigations I have found not all Hooters do the Cuban Sandwich.Must be a Regional thang.

I make it on a griddle and put a cast iron skillet woth another pot in it on top of the sandwich to press it flat, Haven't had a Cuban in while- I guess I'll have to make one for lunch this weekend.

Okay, gang, I can't stand it any longer, I have got to try a Cuban. We have a fair number of Hispanic restarants in Ohio now, but they are overwhelmingly southwestern/Mex, not Cuban.

Where is the closest Cuban joint for an Ohian that doesn't get to FL or NJ? I manage to travel to SC (going through WV,NC,SC) and to Chicago (going through IN, of course) about twice a year if that helps....