Cuban sandwich wars: Denver diners split on salami and style

Kristy Socarrás Bigelow, a Miami native and owner of Cuba Cuba, says she has been yelled at three times for serving a sandwich without salami. The complaint usually comes from Tampa residents who consider the Italian sausage essential to the dish. Bigelow, who opened her first Denver location in 2001, asks if the critic is from Tampa to confirm the source of the dispute.

The argument over the Cuban sandwich traces back to the Cuban mixto, a mixed-meat sandwich that evolved differently in two Florida cities. In Tampa, Italian migrants added Genoa salami, Germans added mustard, and Jewish migrants added pickles to the base of pork, ham, and Swiss cheese. Tampa residents still defend this specific recipe as the original, even though they called it a mixto for decades.

Miami, by contrast, dropped the salami and credited the name Cuban sandwich to its local cafés. Miamians of Cuban descent argue that adding an Italian ingredient disqualifies the sandwich from being truly Cuban. The Tampa City Council formalized its side of the debate in 2012 by passing a resolution that designated the Tampa Cuban Sandwich, with salami, as the city’s official signature dish.

Denver diners now navigate this culinary divide at local restaurants. Cuba Cuba operates six locations and serves approximately 1,000 Cuban sandwiches weekly. Bigelow ships frozen bread from Miami, where it is thawed, risen, cured, and baked in-house daily. New employees spend a day with her learning Cuban food and culture before starting a shift, a process she calls Cubanization.

Other Denver spots offer distinct variations. Cuba Bakery and Café in Aurora serves a large sandwich with abundant mojo pork and potato sticks instead of fries. El Bohio Cuban Cuisine in Lakewood offers a Medianoche, a midnight sandwich on sweet egg bread similar to challah, and a Key West-style option that includes lettuce, tomato, and mayonnaise.

Tula’s Tapas Food Truck serves a sandwich called The Cono, which uses pepperoni instead of salami. The mobile vendor’s chef Gabe Aragon created the dish after finding Denver options insufficient compared to his memories of Florida. The sandwich features mojo pork, Swiss cheese, and homemade habanero pickles on a Telara roll.

Jama Miami, led by Enrique Socarrás, Bigelow’s brother, is set to reopen on November 3 at the Eats on the Platte food incubator. The menu features a Cuban sandwich made with slow-cooked pork belly that is seared until crispy. The restaurant focuses on the specific foods the Socarrás siblings grew up eating in Miami.