No Decent Cubans Up Here?

The photo from Ybor City that started it all.

Current events concerning the recognition of Cuba after 50 years of embargo have encouraged me to break my silence about the harmful effects US policy may have had upon this country. You see, I fancy myself a connoisseur of the Cuban.  As a young man in Panama City I was spoiled by easy access to the 2 for $1 Cubans sold from a small stand on the main drag.  These were wonders to behold. Thin slices of "meat" and cheese surrounded by fresh and thin bread with little or no condiments.  They were lovingly made and sold by a refugee Cuban family and were manna from heaven to a working man with a voracious tapeworm.

This was a decade after the Bay of Pigs fiasco and in at least one northwest Florida city (What? you thought I was talking about Central America?) you could find at least one place that could produce an authentic Cuba sandwich. Alas, when I matriculated to the Gump in the 60s, after an exhaustive search for anything approaching the Cuban sandwich of my past, I gave up and relegated myself to the next best thing: the Combination sandwich from Pasquales, the Sahara and finally Corsinos.

The Grand Opening of the Sahara--forerunner of Corsinos--where you could get a Combo sandwich in lieu of a Cuban.

But fast forward under forty years of embargo.  Our brave secretary of state and Vietnam war hero John Kerry now says the embargo harmed America more than Cuba just like building the Berlin Wall hurt East Germany more than the West. Well, as ridiculous as that may sound, there is at least one instance where the embargo hurt the US more than Cuba: We have no decent Cubans up here in the Gump.  Good maybe.  But all the great ones are in Florida.

My brother--a foppish dandy named Basil--has retired with his wife to an upscale "seniors" community near Tampa.  He knows that every time I visit I have to go to the original Columbia restaurant in Ybor City for my Cuban fix. Of course, there they include salami along with the traditional ham and sliced pork which is sometimes called the Tampa variation.  But the mix of Swiss cheese and pickles on the thinly sliced Cuban bread makes a visit to the Columbia a must for me.

There have been heroic attempts to develop Cuban sandwiches here in the Gump and we thank all of those who tried. We mentioned the decent Cuban sandwich at The Wagon Wheel in our very first post back in 2009. That year we reviewed the better Cuban at The Wishbone Cafe. In 2011 we mentioned the ill-conceived Cuban "pannini" at the now-defunct Alley Deli. We explored the "Torta Cubana" at the Latino Super Market Taqueria y Restaurant but--as should be plain--that is not a Cuban sandwich but a Central American sexist parody of Cuban women. In 2012 we thought we finally had hit it big with the Cuban sandwich from the Cantina in the Alley. Unfortunately, the owner died soon after it opened and they closed down. Even the old Olive Room had a fairly good Cuban on the lunch menu back when it was a going concern. Recently, we noted the Ricky Ricardo Cuban Sandwich at Chappy's as a good effort.

But something, perhaps as says John Kerry (Vietnam war hero), was lacking because of the embargo? Were we too many generations removed from real Cuban sandwiches to replicate the originals here in the Gump?

I, obviously, do not pretend to know or understand how the exercise of presidential fiat resulting in the normalization of relations with Cuba will play out. But now with all the uproar concerning the unilateral executive action taken regarding Cuba without Congressional approval aside, I am somewhat hopeful that the normalization of relations with Cuba will eventually lead to the availability of Cuban cigars and authentic Cuban sandwiches in the Gump that will rival the Columbia or Las Olas Cafe on South Beach.

To land this plane let me tell you that it was ironic that today, the dawning of a new age in U.S./Cuban relations, my brother decided to torture me with a text and picture of his Cuban sandwich and 1905 salad from the original Columbia restaurant.  To which I thoughtlessly replied, "We just don't have any decent Cubans up here."  After sending that text I chuckled to myself that someone might take that the wrong way....

The Anti-Pub at Charles Anthony's

Those of you with years in the Gump under your belts surely remember "The Pub" when it was in Montgomery Mall. Established in 1972 the place was a local institution known among locals as a great seafood restaurant with its signature fried crab claws. When your competition was The Elite and The Sahara, having better seafood at a lower price was not very hard even with a small but homey place down in a hall in the mall. The Pub was cozy, the waitresses were grizzled veterans and the banter was that of regulars kidding the regulars. It was more like a bar with pretty good food.

The new place bears little resemblance to "The Pub" or a pub. Located out in West Shorter a/k/a Pike Road/East Montgomery, Charles Anthony's "at" the Pub is a very nice new structure located right on Chantilly Parkway off the Mitylene Exit. The fare is still primarily seafood based and the have their sauteed and fried claws which are good. On a busy Friday night they moved the customers through at a pace that locals appreciate. The wait staff was competent and friendly and the food was fair. The wait was less than 30 minutes even though the waiting area was pretty full. It was also nice seeing several friends who all remarked as they left about how satisfied they were with their meals. One said, "It was good as always."

We had the sauteed crab claws and 1/2 pound was plenty for three but a little pricey at $16.95 "market price." Question, where is the Crab Claw Stock Market where the market price is set?

Tayteese had the grilled Tilapia ($13.95) and enjoyed it. Gramma B, our guest, had the she-crab soup as an entree and declared it better than the same dish at Sinclairs. Yours truly tried the crabmeat augratin and found it to be unremarkable but certainly decent and worth its $14.95 price tag.

Clearly the place is popular for a reason: the food is reasonably priced and solid. Three of us ate for $72 with a glass of the bubbly each. The surroundings are nice and the waitstaff is proficient. Nevertheless, it reminds me more of a "Fifth Quarter" than a local pub. It is more "prozacky," as one Urban Spooner wrote, than local places in The Gump. I'm not saying you shouldn't go, I'm just saying don't expect anything like a "pub" atmosphere. The nearest dart board is at Academy Sports down the road.