SO Miami: Cuban Vs. Cubano

Always on the lookout for potentially educational eating, I was drawn into Subway by this advertisement:

Having eaten an authentic Cuban Sandwich or two (or ten) I wondered if Subway could pull one off or if this would be like McDonald's serving BBQ in South Carolina.

Fortunately, our local Subway is in a strip mall with a Cuban cafe.  I decided the only way to truly compare the two would be to buy an authentic Cuban Sandwich and THE CUBANO. 

I also ran into Publix and picked up a couple cans of seasoned black beans:

(The other side is in English)

Here are the sandwiches side by side:

Authentic Cuban sandwiches are made on Cuban bread, which is nothing at all like any of the bread at Subway.  It has a thin crisp crust and the interior is very soft.  It is good hot with butter and goes stale extremely fast!

Here is the cross section comparison:

*  The true Cuban had more cheese (always swiss, so that is what I request on the Cubano)
*  The Cubano had much more pork and less ham, the Cuban had much thicker ham.
*  The Cuban sandwich had been pressed - this is standard.

When comparing its features, the Cubano is not a true Cuban sandwich, even with all the right elements, there are too many rules broken, BUT, it was one tasty sandwich!  I do not think it is nationwide - however, if you order the Applewood pulled pork sandwich on white bread, request a layer of ham, swiss cheese and have it toasted, then add only mustard and pickles, you can get the same sandwich.