Almost a decade ago, a budding features reporter at the Tampa Bay Times invented National Cuban Sandwich Day.
Our very own Christopher Spata wondered if he could create a national food holiday. How hard could it be?
Now, the day has been celebrated on Aug. 23 for 10 years, and evenrestaurants outside of Florida have gotten in on the action. A small burger chain in Austin, Texas, Hat Creek Burger Company, is celebrating with a Miami-style limited time Cuban sandwich, and in the past spots like Pollo Tropical, Moe’s Southwest Grill and Publix have had participating specials surrounding the day.
For the 10th anniversary, we thought it’d be fun to catch up with Spata and hear his thoughts on how his creation has matured.
Keystone Korner, at 18515 Crawley Road in Odessa, is known for its Cuban sandwiches, and varieties of them.
Did you eat a Cuban sandwich on Sunday?
As is my annual tradition, I forgot that it was Cuban Sandwich Day yesterday, which is partly why people reading this are reading it after the actual day has passed.
Because of that, and since I made up the holiday in the first place, I’m going to — breaking news here — decree that it is now Cuban Sandwich Week, so that this conversation can still be considered what we in the news biz call “timely.”
Now I will drop another bomb: I don’t really eat pork anymore. I make an exception once a year on Cuban Sandwich Day.
So yes, I ate one yesterday. It actually was not good.
Where did you get your sandwich from and why did it fall short?
I will not name the place, but as I mentioned, I forgot it was yesterday. My wife reminded me and said, “You have to eat a Cuban sandwich.”
I said, “I’m really not that hungry.”
She said, “You must. I am ordering DoorDash from some place I’ve never heard of.”
Keep in mind, this was like 7:30 p.m. on a Sunday, so there were no other options.
It was bad. It had a lot of mayo — I’m actually not a 100% traditionalist anti-mayo guy, but it was a lot — and it had very little mustard or pickles. That’s a big problem for me. You can actually make up a lot of ground against mediocre pork with good mustard and pickles in the right proportions.
I figured there was a 50-50 chance the sandwich would be good or bad. There’s really no in the middle with Cubans.
I lost.
Hyunmin Cho and Geunmin Kang hold a Miami Cuban sandwich and a Tampa Cuban sandwich at their Tampa Sandwich Bar in Seoul, South Korea.
Please weigh in on the Tampa-Miami Cuban sandwich debate.
Most people say a traditional Cuban is ham, roast pork, Swiss cheese, pickles and mustard on hot-pressed Cuban bread and nothing else. Although, there are very many Cuban places in the heart of Tampa that put other stuff on their default Cubans like lettuce and tomato, so make of that what you will.
The thing that makes it a Tampa-style Cuban is adding salami to the sandwich, which they don’t do in Miami.
It’s nice for Tampa to have “a thing” and it’s nice for that thing to be at odds with Miami, a city with a more easily definable cultural identity than Tampa’s, even if a lot of that is cliche.
That’s part of where the fervor for the Cuban sandwich in Tampa comes from: Wanting a strong Tampa identity.
Anyway, to answer your question, I really don’t care if you put salami on it or not.
Where did you used to go for a good Cuban and what was your order?
I’ve never been a diehard for any particular spot. I think it’s fun to try them from different places wherever you run into them, which can be pretty random in Tampa Bay, as a lot of restaurants that are not in any way Cuban will have a Cuban on the menu, as will a lot of gas stations and quickie marts. I live in St. Petersburg, so the one I usually get is from the Rally gas station on Fourth Street, which is an all-around excellent gas station by the way.
Shout out to Rally.
The Cuban at Pipo’s Cuban Cafe near Bay Pines is really good. Pepo’s Cuban Cafe on Fourth Street also is very good. (I have always wondered if those two places have a rivalry because of the name, and strangely Pepo’s for a long time had an old sign out front that said “Pipo’s,” so I’m developing a conspiracy theory.) Pepo’s is really my spot for mofongo though. Very good mofongo.
The famous cuban sandwich that’s on the menu at the Columbia Restaurant located on 7th Avenue in the Ybor City neighborhood Tampa, Florida on Friday, January 10, 2020.
Do you have any regrets about inventing the day? Or advice for those aspiring to create their own day?
No regrets whatsoever.
Yes, I briefly thought that I might get fired. You can go back and read the original story I wrote for those details. I have an incredibly strong memory of watching my editor at the time, Stephanie Hayes, going into the office of the executive editor, Neil Brown, to explain what I’d done and thinking well, “this was fun while it lasted.” I’m told Brown thought it was pretty funny, which helped. That was something like six months into my time here, and now it’s been 10 years.
I have embraced this as probably the most lasting legacy I’ll ever create.
I love seeing that it’s still celebrated every year. And I actually love it even more when it comes up and they don’t mention me at all. That makes me think that it will last on its own, because the sandwich is great and deserves to be celebrated, and not just as a funny prank.
The Iconic Tampa Cuban sandwich with salami at Tropicana Field, Tuesday, May 21, 2026 in St. Petersburg.
We’d love to know where you go for a Cuban sandwich. Tell us in the comments.
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