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OT: Move to Tampa/St. Pete Area

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TheOriginalCane said:
Correct? Yes it is. The Miami Cuban sandwich didn't really become a thing until the 1960s. The Tampa Cuban sandwich was around for 60 years before that, but you can take whatever opinion you choose.


"The first recorded mentions of a distinct Cuban sandwich survive in descriptions of workers' cafés in Ybor City and nearby West Tampa from around 1900, leading other historians to theorize that the sandwich as now constituted first appeared there. A travel article published by the Mason City Globe Gazette in 1934 said that Tampa's cooking was "much more distinctive than elsewhere in the state" and lists Cuban sandwiches (along with Cuban bread) among the city's "signature foods". Researcher Andrew Huse states that "the old 'mixtos' coalesced into something more distinct – the Cuban sandwiches we know and love – an original Tampa creation."

"A 1934 travel article describes a Tampa Cuban sandwich as a "complete meal" consisting of ham, lean pork, Swiss cheese, soft salami, dill pickle and a "liberal moistening of mustard" served on "very crisp and crusty" Cuban bread. These ingredients are reiterated 27 years later in the first and all subsequent editions of The Gasparilla Cookbook (1961), a still-popular collection of Tampa cuisine."


I've had both versions, and I prefer the Tampa Cuban.

Strangely enough, when I was working in SC for several months, I found a great little spot in Simpsonville (Mad Cuban Cafe) where they had modified Cuban sandwiches. My favorite Cuban sandwich added ham croquetas and maduros pressed into the sandwich. Unbelievably good.
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I don't even know who you are anymore.

Maybe I just had an inferior one, but it wasn't even close. One of these days I'll go to La Segunda and make an apples to apples comparison.
 
JD08 said:
I don't even know who you are anymore.

Maybe I just had an inferior one, but it wasn't even close. One of these days I'll go to La Segunda and make an apples to apples comparison.
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Ha! Find a good place in Tampa and try it out.

I like a bit of variety in a Cuban. 4 Rivers does a good one with BBQ pork.
 
TheOriginalCane said:
Ha! Find a good place in Tampa and try it out.

I like a bit of variety in a Cuban. 4 Rivers does a good one with BBQ pork.
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I do an appetizer called Cuban pickles where I take a pickle, hollow it out, and fill it with chopped ham, pork, swiss, and mustard then heat it on the egg at 300 for 20 minutes or so. I got the idea from an Eggfest I went to. You'd be surprised that you don't notice the Cuban bread is missing.
 
Shogun said:
A new job and a relocation appears to be on the horizon. Any recommendations on where to house hunt? Looking to stay under $500k, 2 elementary school kids, and fine with a 30 minute commute. The office is located in St. Petersburg not too far from the Howard Frankland Bridge near Old Tampa Bay. Thanks in advance.

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Bless your soul if you have to cross that bridge brother. Stay in St. Pete for your sanity.
 
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Shogun said:
A new job and a relocation appears to be on the horizon. Any recommendations on where to house hunt? Looking to stay under $500k, 2 elementary school kids, and fine with a 30 minute commute. The office is located in St. Petersburg not too far from the Howard Frankland Bridge near Old Tampa Bay. Thanks in advance.

[]_[]
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Nice communities around the the old dog track in st Pete near the Howard bridge and on the st Pete side of the Howard bridge is the original Crab shack. Best seafood in the Bay Area. I used to live right off the tampa side of the Howard bridge in condos called Culbreath Key, it was a really nice place.
 
Live very close to downtown St. Pete, love it! Wouldn't live anywhere else. That said, public school are no bueno here so you are forced into private. If you are looking for public schools, Palm Harbor has the best in the area.
 
Salami is Italian. A cuban sandwich has cuban bread, sweet ham, pickles, mustard, and.......oh Swiss cheese. So I guess you could put in salami, but it seems wrong.
 
Aldmia said:
Salami is Italian. A cuban sandwich has cuban bread, sweet ham, pickles, mustard, and.......oh Swiss cheese. So I guess you could put in salami, but it seems wrong.
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It might seem wrong, but salami was in the original Cuban sandwich (from Tampa) that pre-dates the Miami Cuban sandwich by 60 years. I definitely understand the confusion, as the Miami Cuban is the better known sandwich. It's just one of those weird things.
 
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Aldmia said:
Salami is Italian. A cuban sandwich has cuban bread, sweet ham, pickles, mustard, and.......oh Swiss cheese. So I guess you could put in salami, but it seems wrong.
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It was supposedly because of Spanish, Italian, and German/****** immigrants.
 
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JD08 said:
It was supposedly because of Spanish, Italian, and German/****** immigrants.
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Yeah, I'm 100% German on my mom's side, and salami is the popular deli meat.

I saw some sort of "Food Network" type report on the Cuban sandwich, and the whole thing was that they were trying to make a sandwich that wasn't messy and could be eaten on quick lunch breaks or taken back into the cigar factories in Ybor (hence, the hot press).

Italians and Germans eat a lot of pork too.
 
Much love for the West Coast of FLA.

During my 2 years living in that ****hole called Bradenton I spent much of my free time in St. Pete, Tampa, Sarasota, Plant City, Riverview, Pinellas Park, etc. Really had no choice cause Macho loves da Latinas and Tampa is chuck full of them.

I had some really good food experiences in Downtown St. Pete and Gulfport too.
The beaches on that side of the state **** on ours IMO.

I would move to that side again, in a heartbeat. No Bradenton though. Has to be around Tampa. I need diversity, sports bars and big booty women.
 
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