In honor of National Cuban Sandwich Day, celebrated on August 23, we sat down with Nicole Valls of Versailles Restaurant to learn all about this delicious and cultural sandwich.
Versailles Restaurant Famous Cuban Sandwich
Versailles, coined The World’s Most Famous Cuban Restaurant serves all things Cuban cuisine here in Miami. And not to our surprise, the Cuban Sandwich is one of the restaurant’s top-selling items, Valls explained that they sell approximately 7,000 a month!
See also: Where To Get The Best Croquetas In Miami
After 50 years in the business, the team at Versailles has learned how to create the perfect Cuban sandwich. While the direct history of the Cuban sandwich remains ambiguous, Valls and the team at Versailles have learned from her grandfather, Felipe A. Valls Sr., from when lived in Cuba. Valls further explained that the recipe of this sandwich has always existed but was commonly known as just a mixed sandwich.
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Over the years, Versailles has seen ordering trends with customers in terms of the Cuban sandwich. It is typically ordered as a main course, being a pretty hardy sandwich. Mostly ordered at lunch, or late at night, there is a common trend of customers wanting to experience the sandwich as comfort food.
But Versailles goes beyond the greater Miami population, with a strong tourist clientele as well as airport customers, with a location Café Versailles located in the north terminal. And for those craving an authentic Cuban sandwich but are not based in Miami, don’t worry you can still indulge in one of the most iconic Cuban sandwiches, through their partnership with Goldbelly, shipping nationwide.
Valls gave us an inside look at how the restaurant makes their, Famous Cuban Cuban Sandwich. The technique may take time, but it is worth it with every bite.
Versailles Restaurant Famous Cuban Sandwich
The menu explains their Cuban Sandwich in four words, calling it Our Famous Cuban Sandwich and even offering a larger version, Special Cuban Sandwich. Since such a large volume of sandwiches are ordered each and every day, the kitchen does not prepare them one by one.
With a focus on fresh ingredients, the Cuban bread is made in-house as well as the glaze and bake of the ham and marination of the pork, making sure it is delicious and flavorful with each order. Since the loaves of bread are quite large, one loaf equals out to four smaller Cuban sandwiches and three for the larger.
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The bread is sliced down the middle, with the pork on the bottom piece, followed by the ham, then swiss cheese. It is common to used shredded pork in a Cuban sandwich, but Versailles thinly slices theirs.
On the upper portion of the bread, the mustard and pickles are added. Following the sandwich creation on the bread, each portion is sliced vertically to its exact size. To ensure that each sandwich is warm for each customer, the built sandwich is then pressed on a sandwich press open-faced. By pressing each sandwich open-faced, the ham and cheese begins to get warm and melt. Once the sandwich is pressed to the correct temperature, it is folded into its sandwich form and cut diagonally - ready to serve!
In addition to the Famous Cuban Sandwich, Versailles offers a Media Noche Sandwich. Similar to the Cuban sandwich, but this is made on a sweeter egg loaf as opposed to the Cuban bread. And the sandwich is also commonly referred to as the Midnight Sandwich, because it is known to be considered a late-night, after a night out, food option. The inside of the Media Noche is exactly the same as a Cuban sandwich, although with less filling, making it an overall lighter version.
Versailles Restaurant Media Noche Sandwich
Versailles is rich in history and its menu is rich in flavor, delivering fresh and authentic Cuban cuisine to the Miami area and beyond.
Photography by: Courtesy Versailles Restaurant
