TEMPLE TERRACE, Fla — As we continue to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, we want to highlight a delicacy in Hispanic culture that you’ve probably tasted once or 100 times.
“The Cuban sandwich comes from Cuba, it comes from Havana in particular, it was popularized and re-popularized all over the world and here in Florida, especially," Andy Huse, author of 'The Cuban Sandwich - A History in Layers, said. “As far as what is a real Cuban, that all depends on who, when, and where you are and that could fluctuate quite a bit.”
Huse told ABC Action News it was an expensive sandwich with imported ingredients.
“It’s always been a working man’s sandwich, and it really began as a snack for the elite," Huse added.
While a Cuban sandwich has changed over the years and its audience has expanded, Huse said a real Tampa Cuban has to have two ingredients.
"It’s gotta have the salami, and it’s gotta have good old, crusty Cuban bread," Huse explained.
We wanted to see how it's done in the Tampa Bay area, so we took a drive to Temple Terrace to try a Cuban sandwich from a local small business that, for the last three years, has held the title for the Best Tampa Historic Cuban Sandwich.
“Our Cuban bread is from St. Pete," Casey Schoonover, owner of Cozy Coffee Café in Temple Terrace, said.
He told ABC Action News that he had changed his recipe at least 100 times, but now it’s perfected.
“We put some regular mustard on it... Got to have the right pickles... Then you have your ham... Salami... Swiss cheese... A nice, good layer of pulled pork on there... Then we put it in there just like that," Schoonover explained.
Let it sizzle in its secret sauce and there you have it; A Tampa Cuban Sandwich. And while this hot plate takes home awards at the Cuban Sandwich Festival, ultimately, Huse said there's no wrong way to make it.
“The best Cuban is the one that tastes like home to you," Huse said.
