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World Series Subtext: Cheesesteak Or Cuban?

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Who takes Game 7 of the sandwich World Series? The Cuban or the Philly?

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By NEIL JOHNSON | The Tampa Tribune
and KEITH MORELLI | The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 21, 2008

TAMPA - The World Series matchup of the Tampa Bay Rays and some team from Philadelphia will be decided on the baseball diamond.

Another important rivalry will be decided on the lunch plate, the battle of the Tampa Bay area's iconic Cuban sandwich and the Philly cheesesteak.

To help, we take a look at each location's signature sandwich.

Cuban Sandwich

Nearly every restaurant that makes Cuban sandwiches has some variation, but the main ingredients are constant.

The basics of a Cuban – in Tampa you really don't need to add "sandwich" – are ham, Genoa salami, thinly sliced pork, Swiss cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickles, mayo and yellow mustard. Some recipes call for provolone cheese.

The key is the Cuban bread, baked that day and with the unique split in the top crust made by placing a palmetto frond on the loaf before baking.

It's not a Cuban if it's on french bread, said Robert Faedo of Michelle Faedo's Deli on North 15th Street, where they use smoked ham rather than boiled.

Until the sandwich is pressed, it's just a ham sandwich. The press heats and squeezes the ingredients in addition to lightly toasting the crust. The proper degree of toasting? Enough to give the bread a golden crust.

Pressing also tweaks the flavor, said Faedo, whose deli makes 200 to 300 Cubans a day.

"The steam blends the flavors. The oil from the salami mixes with everything else," he said. "You eat a cold sandwich and you taste ham, pork and salami. With a pressed sandwich, the flavors mix."

You can get a Philly cheesesteak at Faedo's, but they make it on Cuban bread.

Philly Cheesesteak

Geno's Steaks in South Philly is one of the more famous purveyors of Philly cheesesteaks in that city. Owner Joey Vento said the eatery has been open for 42 years and sells thousands of sandwiches a day, up to 750,000 sandwiches a year.

Vento learned the art of the cheesesteak from his father, Jim, who ran Jim's Steaks in the 1940s.

The 69-year-old restaurateur, who said he is at the business seven days a week, revealed the secret to a good Philly cheesesteak:

To say that thinly sliced rib-eye is the key only scratches the surface, he said. Chopped beef is laughable.

Most places use beef that is 2 to 12 years old. No good, he said.

"We use only steer meat, steer that is between 20 and 30 months old; barley- and wheat-fed. That makes the fat white and the meat tender."

The bread is ordered fresh from a New Jersey bakery each day, and it has to have a good shelf life, he said. He shopped around for a while before settling on the bakery. Now, he never buys from anyone else.

"It's all from him," Vento said. "I'm very loyal."

The cheese involves a choice. A good Philly cheesesteak has provolone or American cheese or Cheez Whiz.

Tourists tend to order American or the preferred provolone, he said, but everyone from Philly orders up Cheez Whiz.

When the sandwich was created, no cheese was used. "Whiz took over," he said.

Only white onions are used, and they must be cooked to the right consistency, he said, never over- or under-grilled.

"We pay a little more for these onions," Vento said, "but I don't cut no corners with these."

That's it.

Grilled peppers, lettuce, tomatoes aren't part of the sandwich.

"It's overkill," he said. "Nowadays, people want mushrooms, peppers, lettuce, extra cheese. It takes away from the taste of the meat."

"We try to talk people out of it."

A cheesesteak sandwich from Geno's is $7.50.

"You want a perfect cheesesteak," Vento said, "you have to eat at Geno's."

For Tampa Bay Rays fans who find themselves in Philadelphia for a World Series game and maybe in line at Geno's and homesick for a good pressed Cuban sandwich, don't expect Joe Vento to play ball.

"There are no Cuban sandwiches here," he said.

That raises a question: Are there any cheesesteaks in the Bay area that would pass muster with a Phillies fan?

Oh, yeah, where do the Cuban aficionados go?

And who takes Game 7 of the sandwich World Series? The Cuban or the Philly?

Let us know.

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