More Than a Meal

Pork (roasted). Ham (sliced). Cheese (swiss). Mustard (yellow). Pickles (dill). Bread (Cuban). 

Salami (maybe)?

It sounds simple, maybe even cheap. But there is a richness to it. There is more to it than you think. At least there is for me. 

Also, “cheap” was kind of the point, originally.

The Cuban sandwich, or Cubano, has always been special to me. I never saw myself creating that sentence, but here we are. I grew up in Florida and this sandwich was everywhere. You could get one in a nice restaurant. You could get one at the corner gas station. You even made them in your own home.

I figured I would be eating Cuban sandwiches on a regular basis for the remainder of time, but I was wrong. When I moved away from Florida, there was not a Cuban sandwich in sight, unless I produced one for myself (without the Cuban bread, of course). 

And that is when I began to truly appreciate this culinary and cultural masterpiece. 

Since they are now so difficult to come by, when I see one on a menu, I order it. No questions asked. That first bite brings me home. I can’t help but compare whatever is in my hand at that moment to those I had in my youth. They usually don’t compare, even if it is just in my biased imagination. But I doubt it is.

My first stop when I return home…you already know.

The silver lining of no longer being able to find my beloved Cubano on many menus is the fact that I have had to adapt. I have had to work on my own, homemade, sandwich. And I have progressed rapidly, but with much work left to do. Some may say that I make the best Cuban for (many) miles around. Some may.

Cuba. Miami. Tampa. Hell, maybe even Key West. The origins of the sandwich remain cloudy, and that adds to the greatness. A rivalry of sorts (between Miami and Tampa) over the dish remains to this day. Some may find this strange. Both fine cities claim to be the birthplace of the mysterious meal. In Tampa, add salami. In Miami, never. 

I side with Miami.

If you have yet to have a Cubano, do yourself a favor. If you have not had one in quite some time, recall the past. If you have never made one in your own home, there’s a first time for everything.

Next time you see this delicacy on a menu, order it. If only for me.

I have a strange passion for this sandwich, I know. It means a lot to me. It goes well beyond the pork and the pickles. 

I love it, for some reason. I love it, for many reasons.

-Houston Bailey (@BumpBailey)