# It's Cuban Sandwich time



## OKLAHOMAN (Jul 3, 2010)

I will be in Florida from the 15th til the 19th this month. Will be taking my Dad to Ybor city for a Cuban sandwich at the La Topicana on Saturday the 17th. Met with Bruce119 and Roddesigner last year and invite anyone from the area to join us for lunch.


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## DCBluesman (Jul 3, 2010)

Dang!  You need to overnight one of thoses cubanos to me!


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## PenMan1 (Jul 3, 2010)

I love that place! Great cigars and good food, too!


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## GoodTurns (Jul 3, 2010)

might be worth the drive....used to spend some time in Miami and the Cubanos there were a breed apart from the replicas we get here...enjoy one for me!


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## Drcal (Jul 3, 2010)

I was born and raised in Ybor--- a little piece of heaven.

Carmen 
Tampa Bay


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## OKLAHOMAN (Jul 3, 2010)

Carmen, I was raised in West Tampa, went to the Old Jefferson high school off of Columbus Drive and dad owned Tampa TV Clinic on 7th Ave in Ybor. Spent many hours in the cigar factories in Ybor and at the Columbia Resturant cafe.....Ahhhh just very fond memories...


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## BRobbins629 (Jul 3, 2010)

Enjoy - one of my all time favorite restaurants is there- The Columbia.


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## Drcal (Jul 3, 2010)

Roy,
I remember that TV repair shop.  I went to OLPH in Ybor.  It closed the year I graduated---the same year Jefferson closed.  My Dad had a grocery store and pasta distributorship in Ybor on 10th Ave.   It is a small world.

Carmen 
Tampa Bay


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## Scratch (Jul 3, 2010)

Don't know if it's still there or not, The Silver Ring 
has awesome Cuban sammiches. Never ate at the one in Ybor
but the one in Lakeland is good and still open. Spanish bean soup is out of 
this world.


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## OKLAHOMAN (Jul 3, 2010)

:frown:The Silver ring across the street from the La Tropicana is sadly no more, Angelo who owned it when I was in my 20's was one of the biggest NY Yankee fans you'll ever see, and your right their Cubans were the very best, and just outside their door was always the Maribella Develed crab man on his bike selling the best Develed crab, even better than the Seabreez develed crabs.......Damn what am I doing in Oklahoma.


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## bruce119 (Jul 3, 2010)

Looks like I mite be able to make it. Same Place :beer:

I will get hold of John roddighner and see if I can drag him out there again.

It's HOT down here :glasses-cool:


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## IPD_Mrs (Jul 3, 2010)

Thats about 500 miles too far north for my taste.  Two Friends patio on Front street, Key West.  With a small miracle we might get to go late summer early fall.  

You guys have a great time.


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## phillywood (Jul 3, 2010)

Hey, Roy, Like they say here if no picture it didnt happen, so take picture and post them, please. Maybe, you can cause more mouth damage here.:tongue:. Can youask them that if they can ship out their food so we'll know for sure how it tastes?:biggrin:


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## roddesigner (Jul 7, 2010)

Roy
just saw the post and I should be able to get there again, good company, great food hard to pass up


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## OKLAHOMAN (Jul 8, 2010)

Bruce and John, seems it'll be the three of us, high noon on the 17th. see you then....


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## patsikes (Jul 8, 2010)

Sounds like fun but I will be down in Miami that weekend selling at the Miami Pen Show (http://www.miamipenshow.com).


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## aggromere (Jul 8, 2010)

I live in Tampa.  Was born here but my family moved around a lot.  I just moved back last year.  I have at least two cuban sandwiches a week and make spanish bean soup every couple weeks.

All you Tampa folks, my grandfather used to own a pool room here downtown, Baker's Billiards.  Any of you used to hang out there?


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## OKLAHOMAN (Jul 8, 2010)

Well Patrick, that's just one more cuban, deviled crab and bowl of spanish bean soup fo me.ou won't bethere but have a great show in Miami.


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## patsikes (Jul 8, 2010)

Will do...

I actually had a nice Cuban Sandwich at our café here at work today...yum..yum!

Have a great trip!


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## OKLAHOMAN (Jul 8, 2010)

Been tooooo long ago to remember the name of the pool hall but back in the late 50's and early 60's I used to hang out at one on Franklin Street, wasn't exactly downtown as Franklin Street ran through Down town but this hall was about a mile north of downtown...If your not doing anything Sat. come join us... 





aggromere said:


> I live in Tampa. Was born here but my family moved around a lot. I just moved back last year. I have at least two cuban sandwiches a week and make spanish bean soup every couple weeks.
> 
> All you Tampa folks, my grandfather used to own a pool room here downtown, Baker's Billiards. Any of you used to hang out there?


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## OKLAHOMAN (Jul 12, 2010)

Well only 36 more hours and we'll be on a jet heading to the Tampa airport, so far Bruce, John and I will be meeting for our annual Florida/Oklahoma chapter meeting on Saturday in at the La Tropicana cafe in ybor city any other Floridians:biggrin: or Oklahomans are invited.....


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## titan2 (Jul 13, 2010)

Long time since I've been home.  Lived up the road from the old Al Lopez Field and just down from the Honneywell Plant.....next to Egypt Lake.  Graduated from Tampa Bay Tech.....went in to the USAF, crossed the pond to SEA (Viet Nam) and always seem to light here on the west coast from all my travels.  

Went to the old Brewster Tech that was somewhat downtown and my friends and I would take off and go play Snooker down at a pool hall not far from school.......don't remember the name of the pool hall, but, it was fun!

Have fun in Ybor City!  Wish I could join you all!!!


Barney


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## OKLAHOMAN (Jul 13, 2010)

Barney, Funny you should mention Brewster. I attended Brewter for a semester, then went back to Jefferson to finish out my high schooling. Bet we both played pool at the same pool hall.


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## GoodTurns (Jul 13, 2010)

if you're in a hurry for a Cubano, skip the new Subway sandwich!  Disappointing.


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## aggromere (Jul 13, 2010)

that was my grandfathers pool room down from Brewster's.  If you went south on Tampa Street from Brewster it was probably a mile or so down the street.  What years did you guys go there?  I was a regular from the late 60's to the mid 70's.  It had a barber shop and a resturant that had great cuban sandwiches.  We used to go over to El Segunda bakery in Ybor and get the bread.  woo ho.


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## OKLAHOMAN (Jul 13, 2010)

Would never be in that big of a hurry:biggrin:, without real cuban bread,roast pork, genoa,ham,swiss no way but the most important is the bread 





GoodTurns said:


> if you're in a hurry for a Cubano, skip the new Subway sandwich! Disappointing.


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## titan2 (Jul 13, 2010)

aggromere said:


> that was my grandfathers pool room down from Brewster's. If you went south on Tampa Street from Brewster it was probably a mile or so down the street. What years did you guys go there? I was a regular from the late 60's to the mid 70's. It had a barber shop and a resturant that had great cuban sandwiches. We used to go over to El Segunda bakery in Ybor and get the bread. woo ho.


 

Yep, that's the place!  When we had mid-terms/finals, we'd all head over there to kill time before our next test......got to spend quite a few hours down there shooting Snooker!  I went to Brewster in 1968-1969.  They build Tampa Bay Tech to replace Brewster, out between Tampa and Plant City.  Tampa Bay Tech opened in 1969.....the first graduating class was 1969 (even though they never stepped foot in Tampa Bay Tech!).  My class was really the first graduating class that actually went to Tampa Bay Tech!
 
SMALL WORLD!!!
 
 
Barney


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## phillywood (Jul 13, 2010)

aggromere said:


> that was my grandfathers pool room down from Brewster's. If you went south on Tampa Street from Brewster it was probably a mile or so down the street. What years did you guys go there? I was a regular from the late 60's to the mid 70's. It had a barber shop and a resturant that had great cuban sandwiches. We used to go over to El Segunda bakery in Ybor and get the bread. woo ho.


 
Ok, are you saying that the Barber gave you a Cuban sandwich while he cut your hair? or they had the sandwich shop and the barber in the same place?:biggrin: Some times I wonder.:tongue:


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## OKLAHOMAN (Jul 13, 2010)

Your both young wipper snappers, I went to Brewster for one semester in 58 and graduated from the original Jefferson in 59.


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## GaryMGg (Jul 13, 2010)

:frown:  I'm sad; y'all are doing this while I'm in Melbourne.

Have a great time; wish I could make it too.


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## aggromere (Jul 14, 2010)

no in the back of the pool room there was a resturant and in the front a barber shop.  It got started in the 30's.  My grandfather was a barber and noticed that people didn't want to wait to get a hair cut so they went somewhere else, so he put in a pool table.  Ended up with an old fashion 3 chair barber shop, a nice little resturant and about 30 pool and snooker tables.  

You guys can go to the el segundo bakery or marisico Faedo's bakery and pick up some cuban bread to take home.  just get it in the plastic bags and freeze it.  You can probably get everything you need to make the sandwiches when you get back home except for the cuban roast pork.

Let me know if you need a guide or come by my place to make me some pens while you are here, lol.


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## OKLAHOMAN (Jul 19, 2010)

*It did happen and here's the pictures to prove it*

Had a good lunch and a great time. Always enjoy meeting John and Bruce for lunch once a year... John on the left and Bruce on the right. In the second picture that's Bruce showing me on of his fantastic money blanks...
Yes I did come home with a couple :biggrin:.


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